I'm afraid of Sheppard as a prospect because of how infatuated DD is with him. Are we sure we want him? That's a big red flag.
Im surprised at you DD! As long as you have been on this site, you ought to know by now most of the takes are race related. Lol Scoot is built different. He's a tank but I didn't want Scoot Henderson last yr and I don't want Reed Sheppard this yr. Small players hurt you in the Playoffs. They have to be extra special to lead their team; Steph, Isaiah, A.I. I can't think of too many others.
In this instance, it literally is. You'd know that if you actually watched the games.....but we both know you didn't.
Put Reed Sheppard on that Blazers team to replicate Scoot Henderson's role as the primary lead guard on a team with **** spacing and watch an absurdly inefficient rookie season for Sheppard. People really underestimate how difficult it is to go from college or gleague at age 19 straight to being the lead ball handler of a NBA team against NBA defenses planning against you. People really need to understand the context of roles. If you believe Reed Sheppard could have an efficient rookie season at age 19 in Scoot Henderson's role then you are talking about a Luka level rookie season. You people need some basic perspective because it is so out of wack
I wanted Amen last yr, the same reason why I don't want Reed Sheppard this yr. Amen can play 1-4, for sure 1-3, Reed can only be a 1. Amen is versatile, Reed is a one position player. You ALWAYS have to think about the "WHAT IFS". What if, his shot resort back to normal, like what he displayed in highschool? What If, he can't get his shot off over taller players? Etc? There were a lot of questions about Amen's game too. There are always questions that have to be answered, especially with short players.
I can see why that may be a concern and of course it's easy for a supporter to rationalize reasons for the sporadic nature of his points. However, I do believe you can't look at it from one stat or perspective for that matter. Here's his by game stats for reference... https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/4711272/reed-sheppard He had one game he scored "0" vs St. Joes. He only took one shot in that game, but he had 4 rebs, 4 asts, and 5 stls. If you look at most of those low scoring games, his shooting volume is low (1-5 shots typically). He had one game all year where he took as many shots as points he scored (7). I think Shep was #5 KY recruit and had 3 other higher rated guards ahead of him. Considering that factor, there were likely games some of those guys got hot and he didn't need to shoot. Scouts will likely watch every game on a guy they're considering taking and will be able to ascertain why he didn't shoot more in those games. We can pick these guys apart. Let's take the likely the #1 or #2 pick for example. Here's Sarr's by game stats last year... https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/242354/alexandre-sarr/games What are the similarities in his and Shep's low scoring games? Low shooting volume. What were the reasons for the low volume? I think we'd need to watch each game to see. We have some tremendous athletes on our team, and a couple of really sound, fundamental players. However, we're lacking an elite shooter or 2, and Sheppard's form looks really close to Mark Price's shot. If we can add that, coupled with a guy who makes the right pass (at the right time), who can also steal the ball from bigs and smalls alike, then I'm all in for that player.
Why would he need to be the lead when we have FVV as our starter? Barring an injury to Fred and Amen, this is literally the perfect situation for him to grow at his own pace.
Funnily enough, the thing that sold me on Amen is kinda what sold me on Reed: high feel/BBIQ. I honestly didn't think that much of Amen, even with his size and athleticism. You can find a lot of great athletes with good size. But those intangibles really stood out to me, and they stand out to me with Reed too. As for the What Ifs, I already said I'd still think highly of Reed if his 3pt shooting fell back to earth. Presumably it would still be in the "good" tier, but I think he can still do enough good on the court for a team outside of his shooting. Or maybe not. Maybe he'll make Nix look good. *shrug*
I hope ALL Reed Sheppard draft proponents are watching tonight! This is the main reason why I don't think you draft a 6'2 tweener this high. Boston is showing why size and length matters. Their smallest player is 6'4 - 6'5 Holiday and if your plan is to win a championship thats the direction the Rockets need to approach. Tatum and Brown are good playera, very good, but I dont consider them in the same tier with Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, etc. What Boston has are good players with length. The Rockets have good wing players with length and I think if they continue to build that way, they can become contenders
Boston has been contenders for at least the Brad Stevens coaching era so being contenders is not enough. It took them at least 6-7 years to even be favorites......
He's a bench player. If you're picked #3, at some point the FO will look for you to become a starter.
