Raptors’ Dennis Schroder shines as Germany dominates Sweden

The Toronto Raptors only have one player on their roster participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, as new point guard acquisition and Germany star Dennis Schroder is intent on showing his new fans what he can do in a featured role. The competition hasn’t started properly yet, but he is already white-hot from the field.

Schroder, who is leading a Maxi Kleber-less German team that features both Wagner brothers in Franz and Moritz as well as former Raptors guard Isaac Bonga, was the catalyst for Germany in their dominant 87-68 victory against Sweden in a friendly matchup. Schroder is looking ready to dominate in World Cup play.

Schroder led the team with 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists. While Sweden managed to tie the game up at 42-42 at halftime, a 27-7 German run spurred by Schroder was enough to help his country take down a Swedish side that didn’t have the talent.

In a group that features NBA players like Yuta Watanabe and Lauri Markkanen, Schroder needs to be at the top of his game if Germany is going to break through and make some noise in the tournament. Schroder is off to a good start in that area after slicing Sweden apart.

Toronto Raptors’ Dennis Schroder leads in Germany win vs. Sweden.

While Schroder is not going to be one of the primary scorers on the Raptors, part of the reason Masai Ujiri acted so quickly to sign him following the loss of Fred VanVleet was the fact that he can be a reliable scorer who has shown to be a consistent bucket-getter for years as a starting point guard.

If Scottie Barnes ends up being the starting point guard and Gary Trent Jr. remains in the starting lineup, Schroder will be the team’s top Sixth Man. Schroder will be tasked with carrying the team’s bench, and the German team could be a somewhat reasonable facsimile of what this unit could perform like.

While international results should be taken with a grain of salt, as Juancho Hernangomez preceded a very disappointing Raptors campaign by leading Spain to victory in Eurobasket play, it’s still nice to see Schroder taking charge and scoring the ball with such ease.

While he can be a frustrating player to watch at times due to how uneven his play can be in an 82-game season, the German national team appears to be getting the best out of