Reed Sheppard report card

Report from the Blazers game:

The most noticeable thing about Reed in this game, defensively, was his aggression from the moment he came in. Stepping up on screens, taking away the action, getting in the face of the ball handler, stalling the play. Also much more physical off the ball to thwart cutters and impede big men coming in for rebounding position. He used his hands pretty freely.

He was also more aggressive and adventurous in help defense. It’s risky, but in his case I think on balance it’ll pay off, because the talent he’s shown on offense—his ability to see the court and what will develop—is also true on defense. He recognizes where the drive or pass will be.

On some plays he stepped over to cut off the path to the basket. On other plays he stunted over to deter the drive. Sometimes he just slowed the action long enough to give his teammates a chance to stop the play. His footwork is now more credible not just to us fans, but also to opponents. You can see attackers slowing down or changing their plans when he steps in front of them, instead of blowing by him like they used to. I haven’t done the math, but I’d bet he’s costing us 3 fewer baskets a night than he did last season, just by tightening up this part of his game.

One upshot of his heightened aggression is that for the first time I can recall, he got in early foul trouble. Forgive me, but I’m taking this as a sign of progress. One of my favorite plays was Time Lord falling down and trying, pathetically and unsuccessfully, to get the referees to call Reed for pushing him over.

The face-up steal off Avdija in the 4th was almost a carbon copy of what Reed did to Anthony in the Bucks game. Just good solid footwork and putting himself in position to take the ball. The basic formula for Reed is that his arms are too short to defend effectively in the NBA, so he has to make up for that by using his exceptional anticipation and eye-hand speed in small spaces. He can’t get a deflection if his positioning is no better than Amen’s. It has to be closer. Fortunately, he’s showing signs that he’s capable of doing this. If he develops enough skill to do it reliably without fouling, he’ll become a genuine deterrent.

TBH, I didn’t think he had an amazing game, aside from the highlight plays. But I don’t mind his misses, and I’m glad to see the team running plays for him. The 3 he chunked off the side of the backboard early in the 2nd, off an inbounds pass as he rotated to the corner, shows he’s far from having the Curry repertoire, but he’s working on it. Good for him. Keep at it, and those shots will start falling.

A few thoughts on his remaining liabilities:

1) He’s still prone to ball-watching and losing sight of his man. Early in the game, he went for a long rebound and lost the ball because his guy went around him and poked it away. Then in the 4th, his man cut baseline, and Reed was late to see it and got screened out of the play, leading to a layup. On another play, he turned toward the ball and his man cut to the basket unguarded.

2) He bounces less than he used to, but still too much. I know he wants the extra reach he gets from the hops, but better ball handlers will use that moment to hose him. Better to stay down and live with the short arms.

3) Dunno what to do about him guarding the 3. Given the limits of his reach, he’s routinely too far away to block or alter the shot, and opponents know it. Is he doing any good at that distance? What’s the cost of standing closer? I don’t know what to advise here.

 

Report from the Magic game:

I like what we’re seeing from him offensively: more understanding and confidence in his midrange game, plus that sweet pullback 3, which will become a weapon. But I’ll focus again on his defense.

1. He’s stepping up more consistently to crowd the ball handler, and he’s now routinely stepping up on screens to cut off the inside move. He was starting to do this in previous games, but now he’s got it down, and he does it from the outset. Paired with this, when his man uses the screen to go to the basket, Reed is doing less of the chase-and-hack and more of staying alongside the driver. This channels the play into a lane, making it easier for the help defender.

2. As Reed’s on-ball footwork and balance have improved, we’re starting to see him (on some plays) cover both sides of the screen when the ball handler tries to change directions. I don’t recall him doing this before. It looks like a new level of defensive competence.

3) After several games, it’s clear now that when Reed squares up solo in the open court, attackers no longer assume they can make a move and blow by him. They’re pulling up and waiting for help. I think he achieved this level of deterrence in part by showing he can shift position more quickly, but also by getting a few steals like the one on Giannis. The scouting reports no longer treat him as a sucker.

4) He’s clearly been working on his post defense. Crowding immediately, moving his feet, maintaining his balance. Basically trying to defend like Dillon Brooks. As we can all painfully see, it doesn’t work too well without the strength. But he’s slowing the play a little, which is at least somewhat useful to the help defenders. With more time in the weight room, he might be able to get to Fred’s level of competence in the post.

Loved the play halfway through the 4th where Wagner nearly lost the ball out of bounds, shot clock winding down, and Sheppard instantly crowded him to force a bad shot. He’s using speed and position to compensate, at least partially, for what he lacks in height.

Things to work on:

1) He’s still way too easily manipulated by fake passes around the perimeter. Opponents know he’s a sucker for this gamble, and they’re using it to open the floor behind him. Settle down, young man.

2) We lost the ball at midcourt early in the game because Reed, having set the screen and repositioned, didn’t try or didn’t know how to seal his man. Being short is no excuse. He’s got to develop this skill, at least well enough to show teammates he’s a trustworthy receiver.

3) On the drive where Bane ran alongside him and disrupted the layup, Reed seemed to be trying to avoid the contact. Presumably this is one of the next things he’ll develop. He’s good at quick bursts and the element of surprise, so he should be very good at drawing fouls. He’s just got to get over his aversion to contact.

4) Some regression on boxing out. For a couple of games, it looked like he was getting more diligent about this. Now it seems way down his list of priorities.

5) A new problem: Refs are starting to call his hacking more frequently. He’s been getting away with it, but now they’re looking for it. This is a big concern. If you’re Sengun, you want the referees to develop trust in your footwork so they’re not looking for a travel. If you’re Adams, you want them to develop trust that you’ll be out of the lane in 3 seconds so they won’t look for that, either. And if you’re Sheppard, you want to show them you’re judicious about swiping so they won’t blow the whistle every time you do it. He’s in danger of getting a costly reputation.

 

Not a lot to say about the Cavs game. A bit of regression on the defensive end, and not his most impressive night offensively. Mostly what I noticed was that he's trying more things in the offense. Some of them conspicuously didn't work, but it's good to see that 1) he's working on adding to his repertoire and figuring out where he can get off the right interior shots or passes, 2) Ime is giving him more leeway for that, and 3) we're still able to win games. The more games we can win while Reed is figuring this stuff out, the more leeway he'll get, and the more variety and consistency he'll develop by playoff time.