Every player looks worse while missing shots. He's prob doing most the same things as college and last year, the difference is FGM. Once that happens, confidence increases and helps all aspects of the game.
I'd be curious to see how much their stats improved. It would be hard to beat Reed's improvement from year one to year two.
Chris Paul entered the NBA with a higher vertical than Russell Westbrook, had he not destroyed his knee after his 2008 MVP snub, he'd likely be a top 10 player of all time. I'm not a fan of giving out MIP to high lotto picks or dudes in years 1-3, you're expected to improve. Even if Reed finishes the season putting up 17 a game on >60% TS%, I wouldn't give it to him, as that's somewhat expected of a #3 overall pick in his second year.
The biggest change is that he's not getting benched after every missed shot or mistake like was happening last season. Unsurprisingly, his best game last season was in a game he started that half the team was out meaning he was able to get serious minutes and not feel the pressure of having to be perfect or be benched. Steady, real playing time is all it took to get him comfortable and playing like he is now. It could have happened last season, but it simply wasn't a priority. Of course, Reed breaking his hand last season didn't help matters.
Reed Sheppard had the biggest glow up I've ever seen from Yr 1 to Yr 2, thats why I admitted I was completely wrong about him cuz I've never seen anyone go from scrub to franchise cornerstone in just a couple months. Like he went from -1.7 to 7.3 BPM lol wtf. Right now he is averaging per 36 20/4/5/2 on a blistering 62.9% and 45.5% from 3. When you consider he is only 2 months into his second year those are future all star/franchise star nos, literally better than Sengun and Amen at the same stage. While I dont think he will keep this up for the entire year, I think he will still average in the high 50s TS% and high 30s from 3. He still has some lapses on defense, but I have seen massive improvement in terms of his physicality he is trying to body guys on D now which is huge. It is clear he works hard behind the scenes and is extremely coachable, you dont get that much improvement just from "confidence" otherwise DLo would be a superstar lol. With Sengun, Amen, Reed and Jabari we have a young core that works hard and has high bball IQ. Hopefully Tari joins that group instead of the Whitmore camp. It is Thanksgiving and I am thankful Reed got drafted as a Rocket, he provides the scoring that complements Sengun and Amen and they will prob be the Big 3 in the post KD era.
