The Detroit Pistons just dropped a tough game to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one of their former players spearheaded the victory: Dennis Schroder. Schroder, who was an important piece of last year’s playoff team, came off the bench for the Cavs and absolutely torched the Pistons.
Though he started the year with the Sacramento Kings, Schroder was traded to the Cavs at the deadline alongside Keon Ellis. De’Andre Hunter was sent back to Sacramento in the exchange. Schroder’s on-ball defense, ball-handling, and scoring abilities proved important against the Pistons on Tuesday night. Plus, he even dished out some fun trash talk to Cade Cunningham.
And it was enough to help Cleveland get a win.
Dennis Schroder helped Cavaliers beat Pistons (and exchanged some funny words with Cade Cunningham)
The Cavs’ stars struggled on Tuesday night. At least, relatively speaking. James Harden, who, like Schroder, joined the Cavs at the deadline, shot 5-of-17 from the field and 2-of-9 from deep.
Donovan Mitchell was out, Jarrett Allen shot just 4-of-7, and while Evan Mobley put up 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, it wasn’t exactly the offensively-dominant performance Cleveland may have wanted with Mitchell sidelined.
So, some other guys needed to step up. And Schroder was one of those guys.
He finished the night with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the three-point line.
Jaylon Tyson also helped out with a 22-point performance as a member of the starting lineup.
Schroder’s contribution off the bench proved crucial, as the Cavs were able to squeak out a 113-109 win over the Pistons, who have been sitting atop the Eastern Conference for most of the season.
And the veteran point guard’s impact stretched beyond the box score, too, as he even took the time to mess with Cunningham a bit (all in good fun, of course).
As the Pistons were shooting free throws, Cunningham went up to talk to Schroder. But the former Piston wasn’t having it. He mocked Cunningham for ignoring his phone calls, claiming that he’s too ‘big-time’ now because he’s getting MVP chants.
Obviously, Schroder was laughing during t the moment, so it seems like this was just two friends messing around. But still, it was a funny plot point, as Schroder also got the last laugh that night.
Without his performance off the pine, the Cavaliers may not have been able to take down the Pistons, especially without Mitchell in the lineup.
It was the classic case of a revenge game, and it came at an unfortunate time for Detroit.