I thought he played better defense last night. He will always be hunted and he made a couple of dumb gambles, but overall his defense was better. I don’t think leaving Reed in on an extended window when he was shooting so bad was the right thing to do to win this game, but Reed is not the reason we lost this game. Someone pointed out that Durant has taken the least amount of 3’s in his career this year. He was supposed to provide spacing, he is doing the opposite and his large turnover games are a big problem. I fear Ime is going to go back to his defense and offensive rebound only mindset, which will win a lot of games, but will not win in the postseason. It will also wear Durant completely out.
Reed was rushing his shots last night. Many of those misses were flat and short. It usually means that the shooter releases before he reaches his optimal shooting point. They guarded him very tight. Some of the shots shouldn't have been taken. Other times he was open and passed off. He needs to learn when to shoot and when to pass. Right now he's just not consistently making good shooting decisions. A few times he was able to get inside the arc in open space. He should have pulled up and shoot that middie. He hesitated, or drove too close to the basket with defenders guarding the rim. He also needs to be more crafty with his handle. He just can't beat his man one on one.
He was 1-9 in his first 10 minutes on the floor. He was 4-8 from the floor in the 4th quarter. He missed some 3's, but missed a lot of mid-range shots this game. He will eventually need to get to the point that he can score when the perimeter shot is cold. He did defend well overall and got some rebounds.
I think the good news is that he helped the team even though his shooting was WELL below acceptable levels. Opposing defenses still fear his shot, so he still creates a ton of space for everyone else merely existing on the court.
I’ll definitely take the clutch shooting in a close game against a top team on the road. That’s a different skill set. And as I like to point out Reed keeps performing well in those situations.
We are lucky the Rockets drafted Reed over Sand Castle. Imagine Reed getting the open looks Champagnie and Vassell and Fox and Barnes get and all the talk of him being “targeted”, Victor behind him to clean it up. And vice versa, bricklayers Castle, Amen, Sengun. 3/5 of a starting lineup that can’t shoot. @mario_v who do you like on this team? Serious question. I don’t think you were a Jalen guy. Were a BIG Cam guy. (Thought he should have played more/started over Jalen) You want to trade Sengun for Giannis. Pretty sure you don’t think much of Jabari. Don’t like Reed. Amen? (OK, now I see. Yes, very big on Amen) Amen Castle Cam —— ——
lol I said this weeks ago and the hate mongers anti free speech mob came out. Hopefully he’s learning and growing but he makes a lot of poor shots such as a running leaner off balanced 15 ft paint jumpshot. Once again he didn’t let the half court develop and jacked up a 3 before durant or sengun could set up. At one point he missed 4 in a row. It wasn’t his fault we lost but he contributed to it along with Amen’s passiveness and poor paint finishing, Sengun stupid fouls, and Durant’s turnovers. Every thing counts.
Always draft the best player available, not based on need and you figure out if they fit or trade one of them. Castle is the better player, Reed is the better fit. I like amen and sengun. All I’m saying the rockets should keep their options open if a player like Giannis is available. Cam was never given a fair shot, they said his defense was bad, but I never saw him get targeted defensively like Reed Sheppard.
Castle is not better then reed, regardless of how much you like castle or hate reed. Maybe someday he will be (i would be shocked), but as of today he's not.
You are lucky in the sense that Reed wouldve then gone to the Spurs and wouldve teamed up with Wemby. So you avoided that fate.
Purely from a draft need standpoint, Castle can’t shoot plus we already have bigger/better versions of Castle in Amen and Tari. I mean, how many guys can you have on the floor at the same time that can’t shoot? Reed offered a different skill set. Reed in SA paired with Wemby would have been devastating, spamming all those lobs.
castle was developed wel by the spurs. Reed barely saw NBA minutes since he was on a 2nd seed team. we’ve seen it time and time again. Fundamentally sound + shooters age gracefully in this league.
