New Lakers Guard Living Up to Old Nickname

Remember Dennis the Menace? Well, guess what… Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder seems to be embracing his old nickname these days.

Schroder was called “The Menace” well before he signed with the Lakers in November. Four-time NBA champion LeBron James uses this nickname for his teammate. Every time he refers to the German native, he calls him, “Dennis the Menace.”

The Lakers guard was brilliant in the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Schroder had three second-quarter steals and a bright moment in the middle of the quarter.

“You saw that energy, man,” LeBron said of his teammate. “Right now, without fans in Staples Center, which we miss so much, man, just having a defender like ‘Dennis the Menace’ did, being able to pick up full court and get like two or three consecutive steals or deflections, get us out on the break. He got us right back into the game. Big time on his part, man. He’s been doing that all year for us and it takes the opposing offense out of a lot of stuff that they want to do, either coming out of a timeout having a set play and being able to disrupt that with Dennis being on the ball. It just leads to a lot of energy for our ballclub.”

Dennis Schroder has a fitting nickname

Schroder is brilliant on both ends of the ball. However, he has greater power on the offensive end. Schroder breaks down the defense and attacks the basket. Impressive, right?

Similar to many NBA players, Schroder struggles with his 3-point shot. He makes only 32.7% from the arc. He had 38.5% with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019-20 NBA season. But, Schroder gets to the rim more with his current team. He is taking 27.1% of his shots from within three feet of the basket. That’s much better than his 22.7% last season.

NBA experts would love to see Schroder elevate his percentages from the perimeter. The Menace has made only 25.0% of his 3-pointers in the last nine games. He made 43.5% in the first six regular-season games.

The front office traded Danny Green and the No.28 pick to get Schroder.