Maybe, I think a decent chunk of the board wants to play them together and are only arguing for one over the other because Ime seems dead set on 2 bigs. Even more so when Al isn't hitting his 3s.Schroder is being significantly overrated based on his volume scoring ability when his offense is very average overall. His last four seasons, counting this year, RAPTOR has him at -0.8, +1.4, -0.2, and -0.4. His 19/20 season stands out because his defense rated much better when playing with Chris Paul. That’s not a quirk of RAPTOR. LEBRON rates him, excluding this year where no ratings are available, at -0.68, 0.09, -0.51. Again, the difference is mostly defense when he was in OKC, although a smaller difference, and LEBRON values his offense a bit more than RAPTOR does.
Kanter plays less, so his ratings should be discounted accordingly, but there’s also no indication he cannot maintain his performance with more minutes. Over those same time spans RAPTOR rates him 0, +2.0, -0.3, -5.7. LEBRON rates him +0.45, -0.13, +2.33.
I think Kanter is worse than his advanced metrics indicate because he becomes a liability in the playoffs, but we’re not talking about playoffs right now, and Kanter is an average regular season center. Schroder is an average point guard who doesn’t have Kanter’s matchup and playoff problems. Both are flawed but useful players. Neither is a player you should want to be starting. And, to cut off criticisms, I am citing advanced metrics not as an ending point, but because they accord in this instance with what I have seen watching these players. Schroder is a mediocre defender, a poor shooter, and turns the ball over too much. He does score and penetrate, and he’s not selfish so much as lacking in vision.
By way of contrast, Smart, who is also a poor shooter and turns the ball over too much, has very good vision and is an improving passer. He is also an excellent defender, but obviously a bad scorer. RAPTOR rates him (same time span) at +2.4, +2.9, +0.9, +4.3. He’s a solidly above average offensive player and very good defensively except last year. LEBRON likes him less, but agrees that he’s clearly better than Schroder, with +0.52, +1.00, +0.29 ratings. This Board, and fans generally, consistently mistake Smart’s poor shooting for being a poor offensive player, but that isn’t accurate. He makes up for his poor shooting with very good passing, a very good understanding of positional offense, and by generally recognizing his weaknesses and not taking too many shots.
edit: I also think if advanced metrics are telling us Kanter is just as valuable as Schroder, maybe we should take those advanced metrics with a grain of salt. Or the metrics are being used wrong. DS would have got paid if not for his agent.
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