Dennis Schroder had a night to forget in the FIBA quarterfinals against Latvia but Germany advance to play USA and Schroder’s former Lakers teammate Austin Reaves in the semi-finals.
Usually, the points flow pretty easily for Schroder but things did not go his way against Latvia.
He managed just nine points on 4-26 shots, one rebound, four assists and recorded four of the team’s eight turnovers.
It was a far cry from his usual 22.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists that he’s averaged at the FIBA tournament so far.
The 29-year-old signed with the Raptors as a free agent in July but he hasn’t forgotten about his guy Reaves in LA and the wild playoffs run they experienced last season.
“That’s my guy man,” Schroder said of Reaves. “I ain’t got nothing but love for him. He’s my guy. Last year was special, what we accomplished as teammates and yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
The matchup between USA and Germany seems like a mismatch on paper, since the US have 12 NBA players to Germany’s four.
But Germany’s unbeaten run in the FIBA tournament shows they are one of the favorites to take home a medal.
They were also bolstered by Franz Wagner against Latvia, who couldn’t have made his return at a better time.
With Schroder struggling, his teammate Wagner took matters into his own hands and scored 17 points to go with eight rebounds and 3 assists in the narrow win.
The Orlando forward hadn’t played since Germany’s opening round against Japan where he injured his ankle.
So with him in the lineup, the Germans will be even more formidable.
However, the USA have had a very strong campaign themselves, only losing one game in a shock upset to Lithuania.
Reaves has been a solid contributor off the bench as he averages 11 points, 2.5 rebounds and three assists.
USA got the better of Germany in an exhibition game, which they won 99-91 but now the stakes are so much higher.
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