I'm not overly concerned about Sheppard starting v. not starting if he's getting minutes (say around 25 minutes a game). Okogie does fit well with the starters, and an eventual backup rotation of Sheppard / Eason / DFS / Adams makes a ton of sense - a solid scoring bunch with Eason and Sheppard and solid defense. Very rough prediction of the eventual minutes distribution when/if everyone is healthy: Durant / Amen / Sengun: 35 mpg Bari: 30 mpg Okogie and Adams: 20 mpg Eason and Sheppard: 25 mpg DFS: 15
I don't know if Reed will wind up starting. Not unless turnovers become a serious problem for this team. Obviously they are turning the ball over a lot, but I mean in terms of it costing them games. I think him, Tari, and Steven off the bench is a great trio. Two guys shooting 50+% from 3 and Adams in there to rebound their rare misses. Plus we'll eventually add the 40+% 3-point shooting DFS to that mix.
Reed starting is a game changer for us. We can get off to hotter starts and Amen can lead the 2nd unit which should help the flow of things much more. It does matter a lot in my mind whether he comes off the bench or not.
Reed is showing some interesting skill set to get off shots off the catch and shoot. He is a splash bro through and through. You need to play this kid 30 minutes a night to develop. We could look back in 10 years and say he was the best of the bunch. Shooting doesn't come around like this often and he seems to possess some ability to create off the catch/dribble.
This team can legitametly put 5 good to great 3pt shooters on the floor at once and put teams down in an avalanche of points. PG - Reed SG - Okogie SF - Durant PF - Jabari C - Sengun That is about 45% between them, that lineup would crush all others with their offensive efficiency. DD
He's still only averaging 12ppg as of this morning, so he will have to bring that up to win those kinds of honors. He has been trending upward though so he may just do that.
Upvote for correct Math! So many minutes distributions have over 240 minutes a game. I would like to up Eason's minutes and use Sengun, and Durant a bit less. I can see DFS playing 20-25 minutes as well if he is hitting 3's - probably as the expense of Sheppard and Okogie.
We were trying to win every game possible last season in a brutal conference. Reed was pretty bad last year and Ime didn't want sacrifice playoff seeding to give developmental minutes to a guy that was struggling. Reed Sheppard is a different player this season and is earning his minutes. He might deserve even more if this shooting continues. Everything is working out as it should Ime knows more about his personnel then all of us.
I am convinced that if Reed was starting and playing 36mpg he would be averaging more than 25ppg on efficient shooting....maybe 30ppg. DD
We talk about his shooting, and he deserves all the praise for how he's been lighting it up right now, but the one thing that sets him apart from a lot of small shooters is that he actually DOES have good defensive upside. Most players in that mold (and yes, even Steph, though he's the best shooter of all time) end up somewhere between poor to passable at defense. He's not there yet, but Reed might end up being GOOD on that end simply because he's a lot more bursty of an athlete than he looks and he has great instincts/hands. Will he ever be a good POA guy? No, because he's not long enough and he's too little. But as he gets more experience and gets used to NBA offenses, I'm pretty sure he'll be a really good team defender and also probably get a ton of stocks. Sorta like FVV, but with way more upside.
