THIS - honestly, Reed's biggest contribution to the offense this year is to make open shots and hopefully have some gravity as a shooter to create opportunities for Amen and Sengun without extra defenders swarming them.
It is fact that he measured a vert of 42 inches. It is opinion both ways on whether he rigged his standing reach or not to manipulate his vert measurement.
I can't believe anybody really cares about this. His jumping ability really isn't Germaine to whether he can be an effective guard on this team. His elite skill set has to be shooting. At least for now, he is mediocre at best at everything else except steals (which come at the cost of poor team defense). Hopefully, his body and handles can improve enough for him to add beating his man one on one. If he can master that, he can be a PG.
Regardless if he did or not, one he wouldn’t be the only one and two there’s only so much you can gain from it. Most testers have a standard shoulder to ear reach for everyone. They might get an inch
If Reed can beat his man one on one....is kinda like saying if Amen Thompson can develop a jump shot. His package is so complete that if he does develop that ability....our ceiling goes up to easily Top 2 in the league. If both of those things happen then the Rockets have the best team in the league. Thunder included.
I know it is the Gleague but scoring overall is one of his specialties, him and his partner's ....Dillingham. He has better defenders in the NBA opposing him but averaging 15 should not be a problem in due time otherwise.
Lol, like Jalen Green he does not possess a deep bag at least yet....or he doesn't use it other than his jump shots. He still has lots to learn, saying he has almost a complete package otherwise.....oh mang. I am sure, Kyrie would not admit he has learned everything......
There's a difference between Amen's development and Reed's. Shooting is primarily a skill. You can work on it to improve. Beating defender one on one is a combination of skill and quickness. Physical limitations are harder to overcome. That's why most people would agree that Amen has a higher ceiling. On the other hand, Amen's shooting is almost a must for him to be a top 5 kind of player. Whether Reed can be good at one on one offense is not as crucial because there are other ways to beat the defense. And Reed is actually ahead of Amen in understanding team offense. The good thing is, both of these guys are hard workers and coachable. Amen is a fast learner. How fast can Reed improve remains to be seen. I am hopeful that the Amen-Reed backcourt will be the backbone of this team for a long time. (I don't really care the PG/SG labels.)
What are the physical limitations that Reed has? He's 6-2 (or 6-1.75 for his detractors). He is more athletic than his predecessors like Nash, CP3, Stockton and our own FVV. Also Brunson. He is taller than all of them as well. I am hopefuly for the same thing and am happier to rip the bandaid off sooner rather than later. Amen has a higher ceiling than anyone in the league. On par with Wemby probably. No one in the league compares to those two.
Got a good coach in Fred to help him in practice. Maybe Reed can learn a few things, and they get Reed in Nba starting form. Reed got to much untapped talent to be sitting on that bench. Lets hope Fred motivates this kid to go far.
There is a nashty dunk on Orlando Dwight somewhere. Quickness ...lightning quick.....Rafer Alston like handles.
CP3 was lightning quick early on, but injuries and age slowed him down. He wasn't a super athlete as a Rocket. Not that it mattered, he was still an elite player on both ends of the floor because of his talent and bball IQ. I don't think Reed has physical limitations we should be concerned about. People are too concerned about height. Two of the best PG defenders of the past two decades were CP3 and Conley, both 6 feet tall and great defenders in the late stages of their careers. FVV is a very good defender and shorter than Reed as well. People were concerned about Sengun's height and foot speed and now he's a very good defender under Ime. He and Jalen were terrible defenders their first two years under Silas, so if Ime can get them to play good defense I'm sure Reed will too.
CP was drafted solely for his playmaking and his maturity for his age, playing a significant role with Wake Forest and earlier. He was a tone setter, a major school backed Sheppard, Wake Forest is well known but still not that prestigious. I do not get the Sheppard is Steve Nash vibe, dude played Shooting Guard at High School. He just happened to be a short SG who could also pass.
I didn't say anything about Sheppard passing like CP3 or Nash. Just about whether he has physical limitations: tall enough, fast enough, explosive enough. I don't really know why it's a conversation when we have FVV on the team.
As faith would have it, Reed is getting the increased role and minutes. Yes he had a bad rookie year, but he still showed flashes, especially later in the year. So I'm taking the optimistic route, and with Alpi and Amen taking the playmaking duties, Reed can focus on good team defense and knocking down shots. He's a smart kid, reads the game well and is a great fit offensively. It's going to be his sophomore year, so a bad slump is bound to happen at some point, but Ime needs to keep his confidence up and help him be consistent. We're built to plow through teams during the regular season, so I'm not seeing his play as a big W/L factor. His development is going to be a interesting side story during the season, and I want Reed to become a realiable option when the playoffs come.
CP3 in his prime was definitely quicker than Reed. Reed seems to have trouble getting past his defender without a screen. That could be his handles though. We'll see. Again, I don't think it is very crucial. As you pointed out, players like Stockton and Nash are less athletic but still turned out to be some of the best PGs in NBA history. That was actually my point. He doesn't need to be a great ISO player to be great.
