Good game for Reed, and he missed the easy ones... A free throw and two layups. I think he'll get more comfortable around the rim with more experience in the league
If you didn't know Reed was 19 you would never guess he's 19 based on how he plays. I don't understand how he hits some of the cross court passes he does.
I'm surprised anyone views Sheppard as a SG. To me, all I see is a PG when he plays. He moves like a PG, he's got PG vision. His mid-range is Chris Paul-esque. His biggest weakness is he lacks a devastating first step, which you can get away with as a methodical PG with a killer midrange shot -- not so much as a SG.
Honestly it's such an absurd take that I don't think anyone could legitimately come to that conclusion...I think the "Sheppard is a SG" take has to be some weird agenda driven thing. Like if a person saw Amen Thompson as the next Magic Johnson or they saw Jalen as a PG and were worried Sheppard would ruin those dreams by being the PG of the future... that's about the only way I could see someone pushing that BS
While it wasnt perfect, I really really liked what I saw from Reed last night. People talk about the deep range from 3, but it’s his mid-range that is gonna kill teams. It’s automatic and it seems like he can get it whenever he wants. He was jumping laterally in the air and knocking it down like a free throw. I noticed it in summer league as well. I feel so comfortable with Reed as a core piece; can’t wait till the season starts. I think it’s obvious that we badly need his shooting and ability to run the floor.
I don’t have an agenda (you are obviously alluding to me). It’s 2 pre-season games, he looked a lot like FVV without the defense. He is a methodical safe passer without the ability to break down defenses. His strength is as a shooter. His role on offense is more suited to be an off-ball shooter. His mid-range is elite, but that is one of the most inefficient shots in basketball. CP3 can make a living off it because he is one of the best passers to ever play the game and used to be one of the best pg defenders in the game. Sheppard is not elite at either of those skills. If he doesn’t become a prolific 3 pt shooter from deep he will not excel in this league. I do hope I’m wrong and he is the next Price or CP3.
I am curious to see an all IQ lineup with FVV, Reed, Amen, Tari, Alpi... But I do think his long term position will be as a PG.
I wasn't talking about anyone in particular, just coming up with the most valid reasons I could think of for people to have such a hilariously absurd hot take. If it applies to you, so be it.
He looked good to me, I mean the whole team still has its ups and downs and the Offense is a one trick pony.... Adelman should have coached Reed. His midrange reminded me of the likes of Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
I still haven't seen the second preseason game but I've seen enough of him to see the potential as a passer and certainly as a shooter. He's also a playmaker on defense.
Sheppard is definitely a point guard, people questioned this going into the draft because Calipari played politics and prioritized his high recruits instead of putting the ball in Sheppard’s hands, so since he played off ball so much people figured he couldn’t play point. Despite that he still led the team in assists even though he was coming off the bench. And for anyone paying attention, when he did get on ball reps he could make every point guard pass. Then when you go back to his high school film, he clearly was able to scale up and handle higher usage. I had him easily the #1 prospect in the draft back in January, but that was solely on the premise that he is a point guard, not shooting guard. With all that said, on our current team his best path to more minutes is actually in a duo pg lineup with Fred ala what Toronto did with Fred and Lowry (and what Ime already did last year with Fred and Holiday). Because whether people want to admit it or not, Fred is still our second best player and if this team wants to go anywhere it needs him. Meanwhile sg is our weakest position in the starting lineup so there’s minutes for the taking there. I think the team is going to take it slow with Sheppard, give him plenty of minutes when he’s ready, but only truly lean in to him as the starting point guard when Fred is like 33-34 and ready to be a backup. For anyone looking to get rid of Fred after his contract is up this year, get ready for this: he’s going to retire a Rocket after signing an extension that’s declining salary per year to set him up to become a backup for Sheppard in his later years. And I am totally ok with that as a huge Sheppard believer. We are not going to get rid of Fred and go back to Silas ball like we saw last night.
I wonder how long it will take before the team actually runs plays to get Sheppard shots off of screens. It's only the second preseason game so not sweating it right now, but if he's in the rotation to start the season (which seems likely right now) it's pretty foolish to not have him and his shooting actively involved. Him standing around passively is almost certainly a net negative.
I don't see Sheppard and FVV on the court at the same time, it would make the team too small. Also, I don't see FVV on this team beyond this season.... his contact is simply too terrible. Sheppard likely stays in the backup role this season then transitions to starter next year when FVV is gone.
The size may not be ideal but the alternative is too many minutes for a chucker who does not fit the starting lineup. Reed is bigger than both Lowry and Holiday and both have played in lineups next to Fred under two separate coaches. Fred’s contract is over after this season assuming the team does not pick up the option, they will renegotiate an extension that is lower starting price and declining value every year to better fit him once our other players get paid down the line. Just like how Amen is still coming off the bench this year behind Dillon (a much worse player than Fred), Reed can come off the bench for another year or two while playing big minutes off the bench (back up pg and duo pg minutes with Fred) until Fred is ready to transition to a backup role. If you take Fred off the team next year we are taking a major step back.
Why would Fred take a discount to stay here? He's nearing the end and his replacement is already on the team.... wouldn't he prefer to maximize his money or championship odds elsewhere?
It's an offense that's built for the playoffs not for the regular season. And it's being executed by players that can't really run it. Jabari in theory should be perfect for it, but he just isn't. He should be a 6-11 Klay Thompson....but he isn't. That's the type of player you need. The two players that need to take steps forward this year to make this offense work are Cam and Jabari. There's synergy in their playstyles. Reed has already flashed that thing. We have 3 players that have flashed. Sengun/Amen/Reed. Cam/Jabari/Jalen should never be initiating the offense. It should always be Reed/Amen either getting free on a screen from Sengun or setting Sengun up in the post. Jabari/Cam/Jalen should be moving off ball around these actions. Reed is already a more dynamic player than Fred. And he needs run with the first teamers. He's that good.
Well, it is outdated, the best teams have either a Motion Offense and/or a Jokic or Embiid that can shoot and assist surrounded by shooters and intelligent players. I think this year the Rockets should just stick to identifying who deserves a big contract, this Phase 3 ish is not going to work out by itself. This new Practice Facility did not bring out as much as Lake Charles did so far. Less is more. PS: Fred knows as the only dude how to set the pace and play with Sengün.
Like you said, he is overpaid, no one else is paying him $40m either so it isn’t a discount. In fact we could give him a lower starting salary next year and still be higher than anyone else his willing to pay him, but to help the team we structure it in declining value (like Dillon’s) to better fit in the cap and fit his role in the later years. edit: looking at teams cap space next year, no one has money except for BKN and they are not signing FVV. Fred may take more money if it’s available elsewhere but it isn’t.
