L.A.’s energy guys: Dennis Schröder, Montrezl Harrell fuel Lakers
LOS ANGELES -- Montrezl Harrell has been a human pogo stick in the paint for the Los Angeles Lakers at the start of the regular season.
Harrell has nine offensive rebounds through two games and 17 overall for L.A., in helping them get out to a 1-1 start. The Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time, the third of a four-game homestand to start the year.
Harrell’s averaging 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 31 minutes of work a night.
“The simplest way to put it is he catches everything and he finishes everything,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said about Harrell. “He’s a talented guy, with his rolls to the basket and offensive rebounds. He just has a great knack for his little hook shots and push shots.”
What Harrell has meant to the Lakers inside, new addition Dennis Schröder has provided on the perimeter, playing sticky, full-court defense and pushing the pace on misses that result in easy buckets on the other end.
Harrell signed a two-year, $19 million deal with the Lakers in free agency, moving on from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers received the electric Schröder in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder last month for Danny Green and the rights to draft pick Jaden McDaniels.
Both have provided much-needed energy for an L.A. team coming off an NBA title with a condensed offseason, needing to manage the minutes of star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
“Playing with AD (Anthony Davis) and LeBron is easy,” Harrell said. “These are two of the greatest players in our game. They draw a lot of attention and eyes their way, so you’re going to have to do multiple things to try and throw them off their game. And so I just really do everything I can to make sure they have one of the easiest nights they can.”
Added James: “That’s why we have them for. We saw what both of them were able to do last year with their respective teams. Their ability to score and their ability to be efficient as well, just adds to our firepower.”
Montrezl Harrell/USA Today
In a 138-115 win over Dallas on Friday, Schröder picked up Luka Doncic full-court and harassed him all game, making it hard for him to initiate the offense for the Mavericks. Doncic ended up with 27 points but had to work for it as Schröder forced him off the 3-point line and made him a driver.
Schröder said working hard defensively helps create offense on the other end. Through two games, Schroder is averaging 16 points, seven assists and seven rebounds a contest.
“To be honest, that’s like 60 to 70 percent of my game,” Schröder said about his effort on the defensive end. “I got to play defense to get into my offensive rhythm. I got to pickup the point guard full court, just play 94 feet and try to bring energy, so my teammates see it, everybody sees it and everybody’s into it.
“That’s what I’ve done my whole life, my whole career and I’m going to keep doing it, just to bring that energy. Even my energy on the offensive end is more fluid when I bring that defensive mindset.”
Schröder has one year left on a deal that will pay him $15.5 million this season. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said that the organization wants to sign Schröder to a long-term deal when they made the trade.
According to an ESPN report, Schröder turned down a two-year, $33.4-million extension offer from the Lakers because if he waits until Feb. 16, he could earn a bigger deal.
For his part, Schröder said he’s comfortable in purple and gold and would like to make a long-term commitment to the organization if the money is right.
“I’m very comfortable,” Schröder said. “For sure, I want to extend. But, like I said, it has to be fair on both sides. We can talk about it for sure. It’s a hell of an organization from what I’ve seen so far this month. My teammates are amazing, the front office and everyone here is doing everything they can do for my family. And it’s where you want to be. You want to be in an environment where you can just focus on basketball every single day.”
