When Dennis Schroder was still playing for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, it was rumored that he declined a four- year, $84 million extension. He has since claimed to have never received that offer, but he was still hoping for a much larger deal than the one-year, $5.9 million contract he got from the Boston Celtics.

While the Celtics got off to a poor start this season, with questionable point guard play being an issue, they're starting to turn things around. Schroder has played a key role in this recent surge with his strong play. With the money given to Schroder compared to his tremendous production, one could say that he is the most underrated signing from this past offseason.

Why Dennis Schroder is a bargain for Boston Celtics

1. Easy baskets at the rim

Over the previous seasons, the weakness of Boston has been secondary offensive players behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with the offense sometimes getting stagnant. With Schroder on the fold, the Celtics are more dynamic because of his driving and finishing ability.

Schroder is ninth in the NBA in drives per game with 16.0, according to NBA.com. He's shooting an excellent 56.% from the field on his drives and is also creating points for teammates. His field goal percentage on shots below 10 feet is at 60.6%, which is sensational for an individual with a small stature. Schroder's skill set along with the quick decision-making gives opposing big men a tough time preventing him from converting his layups and floaters.

Furthermore, Schroder loves pushing the ball quickly as well, as many of his conversions are early in the shot clock. Pushing the pace and converting around the rim helps avoid the Celtics get too stagnant, and he's also good at hitting tough shots.

2. Menace defensively

Even with the change of coaches, both Ime Udoka and Brad Stevens predicate their success to their defensive philosophies and principles. Thus, Stevens retooled their roster for Udoka to have versatile defenders to mesh well with the system he is continually imparting to his players. One of them would be Schroder, as he is currently averaging 1.1 steals per game and is able to make an impact when he's locked in.

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With Schroder on the floor, the steal and block percentage of Boston immensely increases. It has clearly been a delightful addition for Boston to have Schroder as a reliable defender. Additionally, Schroder has been commendable on his defense on opponents who are 15 feet or farther away from the basket. He is forcing opponents to only make 35.8% of their shots and 34.7% from behind the arc.

3. Complements their key pieces well

The Celtics have already experienced unfortunate injuries or COVID issues to some of their key pieces in Brown, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III. Even with this, Schroder has been one of their consistent players.

The majority of the brilliant lineup combinations of Udoka include Schroder as the ball handler at that juncture. For instance, the lineup of Smart, Schroder, Tatum, Williams, and Josh Richardson has a point differential of plus-29 in just 34 minutes together. Due to injuries, their recent first unit has been Schroder, Smart, Tatum, Horford, and Grant Williams, which also has a point differential of plus-23.

One common factor has been the selfless and admirable performance of the point guard from Germany. He has been complementing and co-existing well with his new teammates even in the early portion of the season. When Brown and Williams return to their lineup, Schroder will even be more lethal as the sixth man and the catalyst of the second unit.

With the Celtics having a very tough schedule in December, Schroder must continue outperforming his opposing guards every game for the Celtics to be a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference.