Just because Amen played SF very well last year does not pigeon hole him into that role his entire career. Maybe he is a point forward, who cares. Sheppard was proficient at scoring off of picks and as a spot up shooter. He was not a pure pg in college. Dillingham was more often the initiator on offense, even though Sheppard had more assists. He has not demonstrated the ability to beat NBA guards off the dribble. He does not get to the rim. I think you can be a good pg without that particular skill especially if he proves he can consistently hit floaters and mid-range shots against NBA players. We will see. I think its a moot point for now, because I doubt seriously that he gets significant minutes until after the all-star break.
You might as well be saying "just because Sengun played center very well last year does not mean he can't play PG just so my narrative can work" When it comes to Sheppard, you simply don't know what you are talking about, which is fine. There's nothing that can be said or done to educate you beyond that ignorance, so we'll just let time do the best it can on you. Maybe it's that you don't know the difference between a PG playing PG and just any random person trying to go one on 5 and create for themselves. Rob Dillingham certainly called his own number more than anyone else....and I guess you think that's what a PG does or should do. Who can say? The fact that your first two criteria for saying Reed Sheppard might not be a pure PG, was 1. He has not demonstrated the ability to beat NBA guards off the dribble. 2. He does not get to the rim. You know, 2 things most PG's don't do, suggests that your understanding might be on shaky ground at best. Would you say John Stockton was ever amazing at beating people off the dribble? Would you say that Chris Paul got to the rim?
..but it does likely mean he's going to be able to play SF very well in the future. Also, if he develops skills to be a PG, he can do those same things as a SF such that being pigeonholed only is sematics as being a SF does not limit a player in any sense on the court regarding ability and how he is utilized. It only means there are 2 guards on the court with him to help space the court and to force the guards to guard them. This can be done with forwards with guard like skills as well, but I'm guessing it will be easier to get guards with guard like skills. I don't understand your complaints on Reed. He likely will be able to shoot in the NBA which is a skill that Amen needs others on the court with him to give him space to operate. Reed will likely guard the opposing team's smallest player and be the nominal PG if he pans out.
I love this photo! What I've been saying since the middle of last season and continued to say after adding Reed: At least 2 of the 7 in this photo will not be viewed as "core" after this year.
I really don’t have serious complaints about reed. I just want to see what he an do against nba defenders before we anoint him as our future pg, especially since the whole rocket organization hasn’t decided his role. I believe amen will be our starting pg as soon as next year and I believe the rockets are trying to prepare him for that role. We will see. Im not all in on a player who has yet to play against a single starting nba player. I hope all you reed apostles are right and he is the next coming.i just think there is a reasonable doubt that he is a starting pg in the nba
If the Rockets were planning on making one of their SF's the PG of the future, why would they select a 6'2 pure PG #3 in the most recent draft? Isn't it more likely than not the organization has determined his role, you just disagree with it so you're holding out hope something changes?
I don’t want to argue who is a PG and who isn’t. But: I do believe if you draft in the top 3 you don’t care about fit, you go for the best player. Whether they believe Amen is their PG of the future or not, they should have went wi the the best player even if he plays the same position. And regardless - the Rockets have a young promising player in every position. That being said, we now have at least three above average passers and playmakers in our young core. For me that’s a good thing…
There's some truth to what you are saying but the Rockets weren't really in a position to simply draft bpa given the current roster crunch unless they thought there was a guy who was by far the bpa. If there was that AMAZING player that is so much better than everyone else, then you wouldn't be thinking about converting one of your SF's into a PG just to lower that AMAZING prospect's playing time. The reality is that a team in the Rockets position were looking at bpa and team need and it just so happened to be the same guy for both. PG was the only spot on the Rockets without a young promising player coming up and Sheppard was the BPA of the entire draft.
Semi injured Kawhi has to admit it is Harden's team now with KPJ getting crap minutes. Not easy getting accustomed to.
I don’t know why people are making it seem like an either/or. Sengun is as likely as Amen/Sheppard to be the primary playmaker. Green can easily end up with a better PPP than 2-3 of them. All 4 of them have a high ceiling in this area so whatever way it shakes up don’t matter. If Green explodes, there will be no reason to have a traditional floor general anyway. Because we have so many players who can handle, it’s important all of them can play off ball. Aside from Sheppard, all of them need to work on their catch and shoot. That tells me for now, Sheppard would be off ball more if he were starting. The real problem I foresee is: can Jabari accept an off ball role because we have no room to experiment with him trying to be Jayson Tatum. There are too many better options. I hope he slowly starts to accept his obvious fate of being a deadly off ball scorer and defender (which we desperately need). What worries me is if he doesn’t accept it soon, Tari can easily snatch his minutes and from all reports Tari’s shooting has improved from last season. We need someone at that position who’s ego is under control.
