Dennis Schröder Hyped by Lakers Fans with MVP Chant After Win with LeBron James Out

Guard Dennis Schröder was celebrated Wednesday for leading a ragtag group of Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-109 upset of the Miami Heat.

The Lakers were without superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis because of injuries. Starter Lonnie Walker IV also missed the game, and key reserve Troy Brown Jr. left the game early as well.

In the face of adversity, Schröder stepped up and scored a game- and season-high 32 points to go with four rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Impressively, Schröder remained in the game after stepping on Heat center Bam Adebayo's foot and twisting his ankle, ultimately knocking down a go-ahead three-pointer with 5:22 remaining to give the Lakers a lead they would never relinquish.

Schröder's gutsy performance yielded and MVP chants from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena in L.A., and while they may have been tongue-in-cheek, he was undoubtedly the MVP of the game:

While some made their MVP case for Schröder, others merely praised a strong showing and lauded the value the Lakers have gotten out of him this season:

Although Schröder largely led the way on Wednesday, he was far from the only Lakers player to step up in the absence of their top two stars.

Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook also came through with one of his best performances of the season, registering 21 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals.

Head coach Darvin Ham also got 21 points and nine rebounds out of Thomas Bryant, 11 points out of Austin Reaves and 10 points out of Wenyen Gabriel.

With the win, the Lakers have now been victorious in four of their past five games, which is no small feat since they have been without AD for the past 10 games.

At 17-21, the Lakers aren't exactly where they want to be, but they are now just one game out of the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference, which is the final postseason play-in position.

LeBron doesn't figure to miss much time, and Davis should get healthy and back in the lineup eventually, which will make the Lakers an even more dangerous team.

Players like Schröder stepping up when James and AD are out could ultimately be a good thing, since it will potentially give him the confidence to continue playing well even after the stars return.