Agreed. His biggest issue is his size and getting used to the speed of the NBA. While he won't get any taller, he will spend the offseasons working to get stronger and build up the NBA body. I think the Rockets know they need to be patient with Reed as he develops and gets stronger. He certainly isn't untouchable but I don't see the Rockets panicking under some self imposed "contend right now" mandate.
I wonder Reed can ever just emulate what FVV does on defense. He definitely has the hands which is very important at his height, but he needs to a ton of strength so he can use his hands. FVV is such a effective defender because bigger players can't bump him out of their way, and FVV will just snatch the ball ball once he gets under you.
He's pretty close to it. He profiles as the perfect fit next to Amen. So unless you're getting a version of that in their 20s there's no point to dealing him. You aren't going to have enough salary to move for a good player on a second contract without disrupting the core. Hard to see a scenario where it makes se sense.
I hope they get a couple 1st Round picks soon to replenish or to upgrade in case someone leaves or has a bad season.
After this season they have the nets pick 2 suns picks and a Mavs pick (2 of those 4 are swaps) and all of their own picks.
31 which is really irrelevant. I was not comparing the two, just reminding people who they were comparing Reed to, one of the very best point guards & shooters ever. Lots of fans say Curry is the best shooter ever .... Nash was statistically better and did it in an era that wasn't near as favorable for guards. It's an unreasonable comparison.
FVV also is an effective communicator and just always is guarding his man and in the passing lane to another guy. I don't expect Reed to get as stocky as FVV as that would likely hamper Reed's offense. While I think the offense will miss FVV's initial actions that kept turnovers down, I expect by the end of the year, Reed will be the better offensive player.
Maybe people noticed this when they first saw it, but after watching a couple times I realized that Reed didn't just randomly slap at this ball...He intentionally popped it up to Amen...
FVV had to be great on D, because he is O is pretty average.... Reed can be great on O and average on D in his own right. DD
I've been a big Reed supporter since last season but he is not anywhere near the archetype of a Kidd or Nash or Magic. He's never going to have that historic a handle nor is his court vision in that realm. He's more of a shot hunter than these guys too. Think more like safe methodical floor generals with a very good jumper (Mike Bibby, FVV, to some extent James Harden).
I was trying to think of the best comp for where I can see Reed realistically becoming. To me he’s a Mike Bibby with better defensive upside. Mike Conley/Kirk Hinrich are there as well.
I'm not in a rush to start Reed but if he keeps playing well Ime should start to consider it for two main reasons. 1. We don't have a real PG and he looks like the closest thing to it on the roster 2. He seems to be a guy who plays much better when he has a chance to get in rhythm and play freely with a long leash Agreed there's a lot of polarization around Reed that gets amplified after a good or bad game. I'm not anywhere close to calling scoreboard as a Reed backer other than @roslolian claiming Castle is a better 3pt shooter than Reed was like a 99th percentile bad take for this board.
I don’t want to make a prediction about Reed because he’s too young, but these kind of posts crack me up for the same reason. Sheppard is 21. At 21, Nash was in college. At 22, he averaged 3 pts. At 23, 9. In fact, Nash didn’t break out until like 27. It’s simply too early to make grand declarations either way.
I don't think it's any more unreasonable than many comparisons we get. At least he's more advanced at the same age. Doesn't mean he will be as good or better, just that it's a possibility.
I agree with just about all of that. I think Reed could help the team if he was starting, but Okogie has definitely earned it if that's what they want to keep doing instead. What matters is him consistently getting solid minutes so that he keeps developing. Has looked really good lately, but I'm sure he'll have some tough games coming up... there's no need to live and die by every single game, it's about the long term, not the extremely short term. Most of the guys we'd compare him to weren't even in the league at his age.... his archetype usually takes longer than others to really show up. He's good now, but he could be great in a few years.
Looking at Fred's defensive highlights, the biggest difference I see between him and Reed is that Fred is just stronger than Reed is at this point in his career. He's stronger and he's willing to get bumpy with offensive players with his chest.... But....I do think Reed has the higher ceiling on both ends of the court...Fred still gets beat and picked on in a few of these clips and he "pulls a Reed" and pokes at the ball from behind when his man is past him....Fred is pretty Handsy himself, but to be a good defender at that size, you almost have to have good hands.... Fred also plays with more balance defensively and in his defensive stance he keeps his arms out which makes him bigger. He's also obviously more experienced and knows what he can get away with. I think Reed is the better athlete and a bit taller. Reed has a taller standing reach but Fred does have a bit longer wingspan. If you believe Reed took a couple inches off his standing reach to increase his vert, then that pushes his standing reach even further past Fred... Basically, I don't think there is anything about Fred that makes him a vastly superior defender that Reed can't become equally as good if not better....Just needs experience and more physical development....
The single biggest development that I've seen this year as it pertains to Reed is not even from Reed. It's from Ime. There have been times where Reed ends up back out there on the court where in my head I was absolutely sure he was getting benched. Reed feeling support from his coach and his teammates (KD reinforcing him multiple times yesterday) goes a long way to him developing.
I give players so much credit for recognizing that they needed to do something to spark a comeback. Reed was very impressive. Dude showed a lot of grit and determination.
