I don't think you need to worry. If we go back to the pre 3-happy era, it was shown that guys who can hit contested midrangers can extend out to the 3 point line. Morey specifically said this about Lowry who barely shot 3s at all in Memphis but was a pretty good midrange shooter. Reed is still hitting his midrangers, so that leads me to believe his shot hasn't just disappeared. Because when a guy's shot disappears, it's universal. It wouldn't just be the 3. This is what happened with Markelle Fultz: his shot disappeared from all over the court, not just from one area of the court.
He probes like CP3, obviously not at his level, but the same style. He really needs to look at tape of CP3 if he hasn't already, his PG skills lean that way. The CP3/Curry hybrid comparisons are obviously ridiculous at this point of his career, but what it's not ridiculous is that his game resembles theirs a bit.
My hot take is that I've liked alot of what I've seen, but my pre-draft concerns have been reinforced a bit. The good news is I do think we already have a really nice upgrade at the backup PG position, and someone we can maybe groom to take over when FVV moves on. The bad news is there are going to be limitations. Especially with his size. Before you say yeah yeah but Steve Nash but John Stockton.... I think Reed has fantastic floor awareness, and a feel for the game. I think he can play the PG position... BUT I don't necessarily see that once a generation point guard ability that separated guys like Nash or CP3. At least not yet. So I'm happy with the pick so far because I see the value, but I do still wonder why you wouldn't take a bigger swing at the #3 pick. But what's done is done, and I think he's a solid value to the team. He's really going to help this year for sure right away, and long term I do think he could start for sure.
...it is interesting that Jabari is 2 years removed from being an elite college 3pt shooter and is technically still a below average 3pt shooter(although by three hundredths of a percentage point) and has had a rough preseason shooting wise as well. I don't want to pump the brakes on the "greatest shooter coming out of college since Steph" hype but I mean - should we pump the brakes in so far as it might take several years before he can become elite on an NBA level at that thing? Maybe this year he is just a consistently average 3pt shooter and that's still a win for this team given the shakey shooting on this team the last few years.
Watch the type of 3s and proximity to the college 3pt line for both players as prospects, and you'll quickly see Sheppard is the much better shooter coming out of college. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Jabari pick coming out, but that's also including his length and versatility to be premier defender in the NBA that made him worth the #3 pick. But if we're only discussing shooting, Sheppard is clearly the better college prospect of the two.
The court vision and decision making has been way better than I would have expected. I think he's also moving better laterally in defense game by game. His handle has been adequate and better than I thought would be. I thought Grand Theft Alvarado would have wrapped him up last night, but he handled the pressure well. I'm wondering if the 3pt shooting is a stamina/legs thing. He's having to put a lot more energy in on the defensive side and they may be zapping the legs. I hope he can build the stamina through the season.
That is his b-ball IQ which like Alpi is off the chart. Amen also has high b-ball IQ but he is not at Alpi's and Reed's level.
Regardless, those are very large and fast men trying to prevent those shots from happening. Better prospect has nothing on the size and length of NBA defenders.
I admit that I underrated Sheppard. I think he is going to get solid rotation mins. His main issue is still defense and he will be hunted on defense. I think he is a combo guard not a pure pg, but that is a lot about preference. He is a conservative pg like FVV with better shooting and poorer defense. We are built for a fast offense and he will excel as an off-guard with Amen, eventually.
I think we saw what happened when teams tried to "hunt" Sheppard on defense.... he picked their pocket and took it the other way. Straight out of the gate he's a stocks master.
I agree. He has a rare ability with his quick hands. We still have to see how teams adjust. I hope they cant
