We actually have good shooters rotting on the bench, Aaron Holiday and Reggie Bullock are 40% 3 pt shooters. The problem is the non shooters we have are better than them. I highly doubt Reed Sheppard will make a contribution, he needs to beat out one of Tari, Green, Amen and FVV to get minutes. That's why I want Risacher or Castle since those guys have higher chance of being in the lineup given they can play 3 positions instead of 1.
Some people have the facilitator gene while others don't. You and many are confusing college or G-league as equal. They are not.....the speed of the NBA is so much faster. Windows that are open in college are closed in a heartbeat in the NBA. The pounding that the players take as they drive the lane is amplified in the 82 game NBA season. Mac McClung doesn't see the court as an athletic 6'2", lane driver, sky above the rim player; But Reed Sheppard is the same but potential to be a 40% three-point shooter. So McClung would make it if he could hit 3's........what you are saying is, Reed Sheppard is a glorified Mac McClung. To take at number 3......I wouldn't take it. Chances are Reed Sheppard is just a backup but taken #3. Fred VanVleet wasn't drafted, spent multiple years as a backup, then proved he could drive the lane in the NBA.......has now spent about 3 years as a starter. Or pseudo-starter as Lowry was on the court during some of that time running point. Year before coming to Houston, Nick Nurse, ran the half court through Siakim and Scottie Barnes. As it looked liked they wouldn't make the playoffs, Nurse started using VanVleet to initiate the sets. The pounding as a starter (3 years) are starting to take a lot out of VanVleet. He looked gassed by game 45 of last season. I'm all for spacing; but bring me spacing from a wing.
It makes perfect sense, this is the same guy who will tell you that Jalen Green is the next Michael Jordan.... he's scared that the Rockets will draft Sheppard because that'll mean the end of the Jalen Green experiment.
I'd assume Luka/SGA would be a better complimentary backcourt. Luka: That is the best play I've ever seen! SGA: Ummm. You were the one that made it. Luka: I know! I'm so great.
I'm not a college fan so because everyone's gushing about Sheppard's shooting, I decided to look at past 3pt% NCAA leaders just to get a feel for shots translating into the NBA. FWIW, Sheppard's not on the leaderboard this year, so presumably it's due to lack of attempts, but in 2024 I've heard none of the top 10 guys and I did some amount of research on like 20 guys this year. In 2023 Podz was 5th on the leaderboard. No one I know from 2022. Kispert was 5th in 2021 leaderboard. Honestly it seems this stat isn't really all that useful a metric by itself. I'm much more encouraged that scouts believe his shot can translate, both in terms of the longer NBA line and also his technique. The only questions seem to be about whether he can get his volume up and more shots on the move and all that stuff to take advantage of his shooting ability. That is TBD and how the Rockets project him in these regards would greatly impact on whether he's worthy of a #3 pick.
There does seem to be a correlation between the pro Green people being against drafting Sheppard. The funny thing is even if Jalen does finally start off playing well this season for the first time in his career, Sheppard still has the perfect skill set for this team. The two of them can be on the court at the same time.
You forget that Cam has to be on the court as well to improve some more. In a perfect world, everyone gets their 30 ppg of run but some should see limited minutes. Even FVV should see more minute reduction, hopefully subbed for Sheppard or another guard.
The good thing about Cam is he can play the 2 or the 3 just like Sheppard can play the 2 or the 1. Cam, Green, and Sheppard could all be on the floor together.
The problem is not that they should be together on the floor but someone has to tell Jalen to not chuck up 17 shot attempts per game...... That is never going to work well if he does continue his 16-17 shot attempts and benching him was not the option as he was still averaging the same shot attempts. Potentially entertaining JG trades was not just because he was inconsistent, it would open up a lot more shots for guys like Jabari or like you said Sheppard and FVV...... The same with Tari when he was out there, felt he was not putting enough shots up. Because you cannot control the shot diet of a rhythm player. His inefficiency aside. Part of development is also letting other young players take shots.
Jalen Green creates more shots for people with deficiencies in self-creation than takes away from them. Remove Green's gravity, and you will have less open looks for guys like Bari or Tari. Again you should look at Green's on/off impact for the entire season, not just March in terms of team offensive possessions. I've not seen a s ingle person who defends Green not went to draft Sheppard because he might take away Green's minutes. I've seen an army of SOFs cry foul at the mention of Clingan because they fear he takes minutes away from Sengun which btw he wouldn't. I think you saw some people who usually defend Green saying lower your expectations and not think of Sheppard as the next Steph Curry or Michael Jordan with an elite jump shot as someone afraid of him taking Green's minutes. If someone who is addicted to Sengun just lowered expectations for Clingan because some people said he is the next Jokic or Embid, I wouldn't say this. SOFs are literally screaming at people the.moment they even mention Clingan as a possible draft choice.
I've seen Jalen's struggles attributed to both FVV and Sengun, so I wouldn't be assured about his coexistence with anyone. If he doesn't play well it's surely someone else's fault.
good points. This is the exact reason I never bought Jabari’s 3pt% from college. His form is just not that great. I do buy Sheppard, though…
Sure, but I think deep down they know Jalen is who he is and he's already got FVV, Amen, and Cam coming for his minutes, add Sheppard and there's a string chance Jalen is the 5th best guard on the roster to start the season.
