I keep thinking about the OKC game at the end of the season. I think he's going to be fine if he's given the time to get up to speed. The Summer League he was the focus of the other teams defense and surrounded by slappies. I was more concerned that the coach hadn't better prepared the slappies.
While I'd like to project Reed Sheppard to become TJ McConnell, if you can add McConnell for the low, low price of Capela and Tate, do it.
Hey, if a Rookie Matt Maloney can start his rookie year with 3 over the hill Hall of Famers and lead them to a Championship then. . . . .wait Nevermind.
He also played with scrubs in the Summer League. He could have had a ton of assists if only his teammates could make their open shots after he set them up. His mistakes were mostly because of unfamiliarity with his teammates, and the opposing defenders ignoring his teammates and focusing their defense on him. They would start with one defender on him, but would swarm him when he gets to his range or when he drives to the basket. With teammates like KD, Alpi, Amen, and Bari, he won't face the same defensive pressure from every one of his opponents going after him. If he regains his shooting as expected, he will be a key piece for a championship run. That depends, of course, on the major pieces remaining healthy.
Correct! Reed was the #3 overall pick in the NBA draft. It is not unreasonable to believe that he can step into a starting role on a championship caliber team. We are not asking him to be the superstar -- just a solid starter. He has tremendous vision, shooting, and defensive anticipation. He is up for the challenge.
Last year Reed struggled with everyone that guarded him when on the ball. He gets muscled repeatedly. He is not capable of beating NBA athletes off the dribble. His strength is shooting and his role will be as a spot up shooter. Which is important if Amen and Sengun continue to struggle from outside. NBA players, especially in the post-season, will treat him just like Jalen and bully him all over the court. Because of his speed they would double Jalen a lot. Reed won’t need to be doubled.
Also, when you consider his performance when actually given a chance, there's a very good chance that he'll be an upgrade over FVV....especially when you factor in that Ime is unlikely to have the same foolish overreliance on him that he had with FVV. If Sheppard was playing as poorly as FVV did in so many games, he'd be benched, not played 40 minutes. No longer having Brooks and FVV available is a way to help save Ime from himself.
I think the lineup is going to be: PG - Amen Thompson SG - Kevin Durant SF - Tari Eason PF - Jabari Smith Jr. ..C - Alperen Sengun Anything other than that and I'll be pretty damn surprised. That's one badass starting 5!
I expect that to be the lineup too, but I expect this due to Ime's incompetence more than anything else.
If he can actually shoot, all he needs to do is run the Matt Maloney offense. But the ball handling is scary in the full court. And the defense…is a gap he may never overcome. And we are known for our defense. that’s the Culture. That’s our calling card.
