I would say your argument is that he's being underrated by some fans because he has the stereotypical slow unathletic white guy feel. But that's not really Luka/Sengun. If anything this is the JJ Redick, Jimmer, and although he wasn't white, Steph Curry belongs in this bucket too. Which isn't a bad archetype for a #3 pick in a bad draft, but I won't say he's somehow more locked to succeed than any of the other players being discussed in the Rockets draft range. The only major advantage is that he's a great fit on offense. But at the same time he doesn't seem to fit Udoka defensively. So again there's good and bad here.
I mean, if you're just going on the stereotype and not looking at the actual player, I could see someone coming to that conclusion.... but it's not based in reality. The stereotypical "unathletic white guy" isn't having a 42 inch max vertical at the combine. He's one of the more athletic players in the draft, and his defense was part of his strengths. You do realize that the highest paid player on the Rockets is FVV.... and he's a Udoka guy....
I've loved Sheppard's fit here for a while, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable picking him in the #6-10 range, even in this class. To be fair, it's really hard to put together definitive tiers in this class, but I do think Sheppard, whose ceiling is elite role-player, should be below 5+ guys on big boards. Sarr is the only guy I think would be a home-run for us in this class. Right now I have Shep as the #9 overall prospect. 1. Sarr 2. Risacher 3. Dillingham 4. Holland II 5. Castle 6. Buzelis 7. Topic* (pre-injury) 8. Clingan
Dude is also 110 percent team first. He was more worried about getting people involved than his own numbers almost to a fault.
He's too small to play shooting guard in the NBA though. He will 100% be a PG in the NBA and we have Amen. If they are targeting Reed then they don't believe that Amen is our future PG which is correct because he is a wing.
Fair enough. Risacher is still a huge mystery to me. I haven't taken a closer look at him yet. Some European sites list him at 6'10 (or I've seen 6'9.50 without shoes), so I do wonder how his final measurables will shake out. Is he actually a power forward? Unless the Rockets are trading either Jabari or Tari, I don't exactly know how Risacher would fit in. You could probably get a lot if you traded Jabari or Tari, but is that the best plan? It's certainly more complicated. If Risacher is a quality SF, you could slot him in the rotation and keep Jabari and Tari primarily at the PF. But that might be a crowded lineup.
I'm starting to be a believer in Knecht. At worst, he is the 2nd best shooting prospect in this class but he also happens to be 6'6 barefoot (around Tari height) and athletic (40 inch vert, led the class in agility drills). He also showed up in majority of the shooting drills in the combine, and he didn't lay an egg in March Madness. Nobody has him at 3 so if I were the Rox I'd just trade down and then get him+additional assets.
Dillingham is the only player in this class with true offensive fulcrum upside, and that puts him in the top-3 for me, even with his diminutive frame. His motor and ability to handle a high USG with efficiency (and get whatever shot he wants) will make him valuable -- the question is how does his defense hold up, considering he's about the same size as Trae Young (but even thinner). I definitely get those concerns, but the positives of the guys ranked below him aren't bright enough to warrant moving him down. As a player he reminds me of Tyrese Maxey, but with Brandon Jennings body/athleticism.
Knecht is also a good shooting option. I wouldn't worry about fit, we can always trade the worst one for assets. Or maybe JG leaves and we suddenly have a hole in the rotation.
There is literally no point talking to you. You are dug in as can be. Completely wrong on all accounts but still dug in. 60% is bad to you at the combine? Never mind 52% on the season, which you keep trying to diminish. I’m done with you, you are being intentionally disingenuous.
When you have a 6'7 PG, why can't you have a 6'2 SG? You realize there's no rule forcing your SG to defend SG's..... right? When Steph was a prospect, people said the same thing because he was more of a short SG than a pure point. That's also why Draymond Green was always so important to their success, he's been more of a PG than Steph most seasons.
Players tank their standing reach measurements to boost their max vert numbers every year (i.e., Pat Connaughton set records, and he's a solid NBA athlete at best). Nobody wants to talk about it, but it's another reason not to pay a ton of attention to those numbers. The anthro measurements are the most important part of the combine.
Tatum is 6'10, Horford is 6'10 and they have a 7ft off the bench. Chet is 7'1 and Dallas has a 7ft center too. Its easy to play a small PG, when you have a 7ft shot blocking center.....we don't have that!
The fact that we're comparing Reed Sheppard to the greatest shooter of all time, and multiple time MVP is just really insane. I think he's going to be a good pro. But even mentioning Steph Curry is nuts... To suggest his ceiling is a player that's never been seen before is really something.
Denver has Murray who is at least 6'4 as their PG and 6'10 MPJ as their SG. OKC has Shai 6'6 as their PG and currently they are playing 6'8 Giddey as the SG. In reality though, they'd probably have JDub at SG and he is 6'5 with 7'2 wingspan. Minny is the only normal size backcourt with Ant and Conley. But they have oversized front court with 2 seven footers and Jalen McDaniels who is 6'11 at SF. Meanwhile we have 6'10 Sengun and 6'11 Jabari no wonder we always lose vs them. Boston had DWhite and Jrue Holiday who are both 6'4 and known to be elite perimeter defenders. If our future backcourt is JG and RS, I don't like our chances vs those backcourts, they are too small to stop opponents and RS maybe can't even get a clean shot if defended just like what is happening to FVV in those matchups. If our backcourt is JG/Amen, then I feel much better. So IMO what we need are shooting wings like Knecht and Risacher so when JG or Amen drive and dish they can splash from outside.
Exactly. I don't understand why people would like Dillingham more than Sheppard, not to mention so much more. They are both great shooters in a PG body. Dillingham has all the perceived weaknesses of Sheppard's. And Sheppard is actually slightly bigger and has better hops.
