Dennis Schroder has gone from coming in guns blazing to the Cleveland Cavaliers to fizzling out with a whimper over his last few weeks. The vacancy the Cavs had at the backup point guard position continues to lack consistency following their willingness to let Ty Jerome walk out the door.
Schroder's first 12 games were promising. The efficiency was underwhelming with shooting splits of 40-32-87, but the counting stats and overall presence looked good. The Cavaliers went 9-3 with the veteran guard averaging 10.8 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
The last eight games showcase a completely different player in terms of productivity. Schroder is only managing 4.4 points, 3.4 assists, and 0.3 steals, shooting 32.4 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc. Lonzo Ball, is that you?
The cat is out of the bag and the honeymoon is over. Schroder is not perfect backup that Cleveland was waiting for. The Cavaliers have struggled to fill that spot since letting a pretty good fit in Jerome go during this past summer. After a delayed start to his season, Jerome is thriving over with the Memphis Grizzlies, too.
Ty Jerome continues to be the point guard Cavaliers would have loved to keep
Last time we checked in on Jerome over in Memphis, the former Cav only had eight games under his belt with the Grizzlies. With that number having nearly doubled, the results have stayed as strong as they were before. The 28-year-old is still hooping.
Jerome is averaging 19.7 points, 5.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in only 22.6 minutes per game. That scoring production comes at 47.4 percent from the field and 42.0 from long range.
There is a really fun way to contextualize his numbers that will make Clevelanders weep just a little bit. His per-36 numbers are absolutely astonishing.
By those metrics, Jerome is averaging 31.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 9.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Whether the standard numbers or the adjusted stats here, the points and assists would qualify as career highs in that department.
It is important to note these numbers are coming for a tanking team with no winning aspirations. However, they are still impressive even with that in mind. Jerome is playing great basketball.
The kicker? The Cavaliers are paying more for Schroder ($14.1 million in 2025-26) than they would have been for Jerome ($8.8 million). Granted, if you're Cleveland, Keon Ellis and an escape route for De'Andre Hunter does not find you without absorbing Schroder's deal. That is pretty rewarding.
Even so, the Cavaliers have needed to do a lot of work to address an area of the team that could have had a much easier solution.