Before the draft I debated between the two and ultimately felt Reed was better because he brings a skill the Rockets desperately needed so he would get more playing time. Whereas I questioned if Castle would even get playing time when the Rockets had Amen. Boy was I wrong about all of the above. If I had known Udoka only plays defense first players, I would've absolutely taken Castle at #3. In fact I would've taken Clingon or Buzellis at 3 before Reed given how he ended up being developed here.
Hahah. If you guys ever want a big Reed game just encourage me to come on and crap on Reed. I love it! I love it when I’m wrong. Wish I was wrong more often.
Ya you were definitely wrong. Can you imagine how much his 28% shooting from 3 would help the offense? His 6th highest turnover rate in the league would also do wonders for this rockets team. To be fair he's improved, he went from being probably the single most damaging player in basketball to a reasonable rotation player. He's nothing close to reed and his potential is nothing close to reed's, but he's an nba player.
Surprisingly, I don't think you're wrong for stating this. Castle has size and is a great defender.. He is a terrific talent, and most people would agree with this take. Consider this though, how much of that has to do with the Spurs and how they've developed him? He had his entire Rookie season to play through mistakes and spurs aren't slouchers when it comes to developing talent. There's a reason he more or less forced his way there and prevented the teams at 1-2 from picking him. Jabari would probably be a different player if he went to SA. Reed would likely be much better too.
What I do not get is that Ime is supposed to be a defensive mastermind. Shouldn't he be able to scheme around Sheppard so he can keep him on the floor. Or is he only a good defensive coach because he plays great defensive players? You would think that pairing Reed with a coach with a great defensive mind would be the ideal pairing.
If we were dumb enough to take Castle, the Spurs take Reed Sheppard and absolutely beat the **** out of us tonight.
Castle is a much better player than both Okogie and DFS. He actually brings ball handling skills that Reed currently lacks. Of course his lack of shooting is detrimental to this team. But when did Ime ever care about shooting? The Rockets couldn't hit an outside shot to save their lives last year and Reed couldn't get more than 10 minutes in any meaningful game. Reed is clearly a guy thats suited to be on a MDA or Kerr type of system. While Castle for all his flaws works great under Ime because the man has length and play defense.
Man, I can only imagine how good Reed would be right now with the Spurs. Being able to play through his mistakes and adjust as much as he wanted like Castle (he was terrible) did with the Spurs last season. Rockets fans would be complaining how we should've picked him instead.
Sure he's better then Okogie (an 8th-9th man) or the current post injury DFS, that's fine. He's not as good as Reed and i would be shocked if he ever is. Udoka doesn't need another defender, he needs players who can play offense. That's what matters in the playoffs. You seem to care about Ime only, not what's best for the rockets.
