[Jackson Gatlin & Dr. Madison Moore] Reed can learn from JD Davison

I enjoy Locked On Rockets. I listen to it pretty much daily. He's good at what he does. And it's not often I can even listen to a podcast where there isn't a co-host. I still listen when Jackson is solo.

 

Off the dribble, Sheppard looks uncertain about when he wants to shoot and when to pass. He seems like he is preoccupied with pass first and sometimes he forces a pass that isn’t there and it results in a turnover. Other times, when the pass is taken away, he resorts to a shot that is hurried or discombobulated.

He has looked his best when he plays more decisively. I would like to see him simplify things a bit and live in shoot mode for a while. I suspect that’s why Ime has him off the ball a lot. In that scenario, he should catch and shoot, or dribble drive and shoot. Get his shot going and consistent, if he has that in him.

But hell, sometimes in catch and shoot, he looks hurried. It feels like the game is still moving too fast for him, and only minutes will help that.

I thought Sheppard showed well on defense against Utah. I am far less concerned on that end because I think his floor is pretty decent defensively, and also because offense is where we need him to play well much more.

 

I will say, it does appear that opposing teams respect Reed's shot through these pre-season games. That has helped create some space for our other playmakers.

As Nook said, he just needs to make his shots when he gets them. If he's an efficient scorer regardless of volume, he'll be useful as a spacer who doesn't require a ton of usage to be productive. The turnovers in these first couple of games look more like miscommunications that will get ironed out. His handle looks improved over last year to me (though it still has plenty of room for improvement).

 

I saw a lot of positives in his two games. I just wish he could grow a bunch and shoot 10 threes a game. He’s going to get respected no matter what beyond the arc. But if he doesn’t have the balls, despite his “confidence at all time high”, the positives will have limited impacts and his value too. We’ll see in about half a season I hope.

 

He's damn good. I think he's a bit overhyped on the Rockets, but then his podcast is a Rockets fan podcast, so that's to be expected - no one should expect him to be an impartial observer. If you listen to his delivery and how he handles the podcast, you can tell he knows what he's doing from a "broadcast" standpoint. Everything kind of just flows and is cohesive. I've listened to other podcasts where everything sounds like a patchwork of comments spliced together or one or two dudes just on the phone talking basketball. lol. I still don't know how anybody can put out that much material every week during the off-season. Yeah, most of it is a bit of filler, but he doesn't really take much of a breather. Meanwhile, I'm paying SiriusXM for their NBA channel and during the summer (and part of the Fall) all I get are shows repeated multiple times daily.

 

I really enjoy Locked on Rockets, probably because Gatlin and I seem to share the same opinions lol

 

I think he's mostly pretty good, but he has some horrible takes here and there. Ditto Madison.

 

Reed is better than most of the commentary about him.

DD

 

Maxey more likely.

 

He's pretty close to where Nash was when Nash was 21.

 

Curry and Dame aren’t Nash like.

 

You think he’s on the spectrum?

 

What in the world is that profile picture?!??! @The Cat

 

Who is @The Cat

 

I knew I knew them. They work at my firm.

 

That was the case last year as well. Defenses respect his shooting ability even if it appears he lacks confidence and he's not making his 3's at the clip we expect from him.

He has that GRAVITY. He just needs minutes!

 

Ok, ok…Wow!

Which one is the maniac who always tells the server it’s his birthday when you go to lunch at TGI Friday’s?

 

My only hope s that the coaches and experts see something in Reed that he has not shown on the court. Supposedly the Rockets value him.