Hell no. Move Durant to 6th man. The league is now Sheppard's. He's on track to be the most untouchable player in the league. I wouldn't even trade him for Jokic or Doncic. . . . . Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. . .
A lot of people forget that Ime actually did give Reed another shot at the backup PG position in early March, but he immediately broke a bone in his hand. I think it was after that win at New Orleans. (And that victory BTW was kind of a turning point for the team and put them back on track.) Reed wound up missing around 3 weeks and by the time he returned, we were way too close to the playoffs for him to solidify himself as the backup to Fred. And again, even if he had, I doubt he plays much because of Ime's obsession with shortening the rotation in the postseason. That's something the staff and front office better talk to him about because this team is at least 9 deep when fully healthy(excluding Fred). KD, Alpi, Amen, Reed, Jabari, Tari, Steven, Josh, and DFS all better be out there on the court in the playoffs. Clint and Aaron I can understand not getting minutes outside of garbage time.
I see the usual suspects coming up with excuses already lol. First they got embarrassed by Sengun last few years as he kept getting better and better, then they get embarrassed by JG taking L's left and right, terminating in being traded from the team. Now they getting embarrassed by Reed as anyone with working eyes could see he is going to become a star. It must suck to be wrong all the time lol
Anyone that says Udoka hampered Reed's development by not giving him enough minutes last year either a.) forgot how much Reed sucked or b.) didn't pay close enough attention to Rockets games. This season's Reed is not remotely the same player as the one we saw last year.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...ard-warriors-31-points-game-ball-21210879.php As Reed Sheppard was at the free-throw line trying to salt away a win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, his teammates on the bench were plotting. Sheppard knocked down two free throws in the final seconds of the Houston Rockets' 104-100 win to give him a career-high 31 points. A 30-ball in the NBA is one to be celebrated, and Jae’Sean Tate was determined that the second-year guard would be able to take it home with him. So, after Moses Moody’s heave at the buzzer bounced harmlessly to the court, Tate made his way through a crowd of players to make sure that ball ended up in the Rockets' locker room. “His first 30-point game, that’s a memorable moment and hopefully he can hang that up somewhere,” said Tate, who played a season-high 12 minutes in the win. “He’s going to have many more. That’s just the first of many.” Over his past nine games, Sheppard is averaging 17.7 points and shooting 46.9% (30-for-64) from behind the 3-point line. “I guess you could say that, just staying in the gym and taking what the game gives you,” Sheppard said. “They’re going to run me off the (3-point) line, so you have to be able to get some shots inside the line.” “His offense is there, obviously making shots, and different looks in the pick and roll with his shot and his ability to make those. That opens up the defense for everybody else and he makes the right reads there, but defensively is where he’s shown the most improvement overall,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “I think he’s taking on the challenge. The blow-bys are getting less and less. He’s catching up with the physicality of the game. Teams are going to try to attack him at times, but like we said last year and during this summer make them go east and west and stay in front them, help will come. He’s doing a great job of that.” As Sheppard finished talking to reporters after his big game, teammate Steven Adams teased him by waving as he left to catch the bus without his buddy. A laughing Sheppard waved back and showed his appreciation for his teammates that made sure he would have a memento with him when he finally got to get on the bus. “It was pretty cool that they looked out for me and went and got the ball,” he said.
Ime's seeing what we're seeing. And that's a big reason why Reed's now on the floor in situations where Ime used to keep him off it.
Ime is a one of the best coaches in the league... the way he handled the Cam Whitmore situation versus the Reed Sheppard situation shows a lot.
Hopefully KD comes back next game, at least Rockets will be getting great Thanksgiving time due to wins we got this week
Great game by Reed and also a number of things to keep him humble and be learned from the film study. He's not close to his final form. Watching Reed and Steph at the same time, you definitely see the similarities. When Reed reaches that comfort level in getting his shot off within a tight window and can be in constant motion like Curry, look out. To wit, more of our offensive rebounds should result in a shot by Reed but he has to move to the spot. This may take an adjustment in both team scheme and attitude because guards typically have responsibilities for transition defense, but it is a weapon that we aren't using as much as we can.
Bullshit. And you sound ridiculous. You think everybody else is out there playing mistake free? Ime lets guys play through mistakes based on pecking order. If he yanked guys every time they made a mistake like he did Reed last year the Rockets would have to forfeit games. Jalen and alpi were the two guys whose contracts were coming up first so we had to see what they were worth. Imes first year here jalen was pretty bad and making tons of mistakes for 3/4 of the season. But he kept playing him and eventually he had that hot stretch in the end. Yeah Ime is a really good and tough coach but some of yall watch too much TV and romanticize Ime like he's Paul Bear Bryant coaching college students. I understand why Ime did what he did and why the organization wanted Jalen (and others) to keep getting playing time. But it aint because they were mistake free. Give me a break. This is the nba...pro sports...where investments will be prioritized. If this was last year Holiday would have taken Reed's minutes after the first two games. But Reed is a higher priority now so he's being given more leash. Just like if Cam were a top ten pick he'd still be here but because he wasnt "he got caught in a numbers game". Yeah there will be moments where he yanks guys for playing awful...just like he did with Jalen and others...just like he has with Reed this year...but the leash is quite a bit longer and its not affecting his game to game standing in the rotation.
Reed went from being a deer in headlights to looking like a star in the making He was the weak link and now he’s the clear third option behind KD and Sengun Amazing
You know Reed has reached a whole new level when Kerr chose to trap / double team him down the stretch, but it didn't matter. Kerr, being a shooter and small guard himself, I bet he not only sees how good Reed is, but also catches glimpses of those younger point guards in the league who blossomed into stars later on.
Honestly, just like Sengun is kinda like Jokic with Hakeem's mobility (not at their level obviously), Reed is a mix of Steph and CP3 (also not at their level either). Let's not forget Amen, who is a mix between Giannis and Westbrook but somehow even faster. If all 3 develop to their full potential, watch out! Think about it, Sengun is 23, Amen is 22, and Reed is 21. Future is bright!
