Dennis Schroder’s Cavs’ comfort eclipses the Kings’ disastrous past

In Dennis Schroderfirst game with his new team after tradethe Cleveland Cavaliers held the Los Angeles Clippers to just 46 points in the first half. In the end, it was a big win for the wine and gold on the night, but the defensive effort stood out for Schroder, previously with Sacramento Kings.

“Impressive win. Great group of guys. Under 50 points at halftime, I don’t think we’ve had that in Sach in a long time,” Schroder said after the Feb. 5 game. “A really competitive group that wants to play defense and then, share the ball on offense, wants to play fast. I love it. I feel comfortable already.”

Monitoring Schroeder’s home debut six days later, along with James Harden and Keon Ellis, he was constantly praising the Cavs.

Honestly, those compliments also came with him when he described his experience with the Kings, a topic he hasn’t been shy about addressing since the transfer.

“It’s been a tough two months for me at the beginning of the season,” Schroder said after Cleveland’s 138-113 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. “But being a part of Cleveland’s organization has been great, and we haven’t even practiced yet. But the chemistry you can tell is at a high level, and we just want to keep it going.”

In the end, it goes back to the upward trend 34-21 Cavs playing “meaningful” games as the team tries to compete for the championship. It went from the worst organization on record to a red-hot group with a strong chance to contend.

“I’m a winner. I’m trying to win,” Schroder said. “It’s hard when things don’t go your way. You try to work hard every day, and you don’t get over the hump, you don’t win games. It was so hard for me to wake up, go to practice because that wasn’t really the focus. Including me, I think everybody in (that Kings) locker room, but we had to do a better style of basketball the right way to end the basketball day. That’s it.

“I really appreciate Sac too because they gave me a big contract to have security for my family. I appreciate (Kings general manager) Scott (Perry), (assistant GM) BJ (Armstrong). But at the end of the day, to be on this side now, where you’re playing every game to win, that excites me every day.”

Schroder has already brought his brand of ball to Cleveland, with annoying pressure on the defense and quick attacks on the offensive edge. He hopes to add his toughness to the team, which has its eyes on the league title when all is said and done.

“Dog mentality,” Schroeder said. “I think we have high-character guys in this locker room, but if we step it up, I mean on the defensive side of the ball, especially I think we can do a lot of big things here. I’m looking forward to it.”