HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- With Eric Gordon unavailable due to a left foot injury, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas watched his team give the ball away 21 times in a 139-120 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night and thought to himself it would be nice to have another veteran point guard on his roster. With the addition of Dennis Schröder, Silas will get just that.
"Tonight would have been very different if we had him out there against that pressure," Silas said.
Schröder was one of three players the Rockets acquired in exchange for Daniel Theis before Thursday's trade deadline, and Silas made it clear he will have a role with his new team, likely as a lead ball handler off the bench.
"That'll allow Josh to play off the ball, play on the ball some, and it'll increase our pace for sure," Silas said.
Schröder, 28, has averaged 14.3 and 4.7 assists per game over nine NBA seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics. He will join a Rockets backcourt with a stable full of young guards, along with Gordon.
"He's someone who's used to having the ball in his hands," Silas said. "Used to making plays for others, used to being crafty and getting to the hoop with good spacing, and he knows what that looks like, so it'll be good for everybody on the floor."
More than 20 percent of the Rockets possessions on Thursday night ended in a turnover, and their 16.8 percent turnover rate for the season is worst in the NBA, and while Schröder and Gordon will siphon off minutes from the team's younger guards, Silas believes they will aid in their development.
"It takes experience. It takes stuff like happened tonight to grow from that, and to have a couple guys out there who have seen stuff like that and don't get rattled by it will help."
Schröder will be a free agent when the season ends after signing a one-year, $5.9 million contract with the Celtics last summer.
