It seems like you are really worried that all of the increased competition might lead to certain players finally having to perform well or lose playing time. If you look at the best guys we've drafted they were all players who had to earn their minutes. The guys who were just handed their minutes and roles from day one are the guys who have been disappointing.
People evaluating Reed as a PG are going to be severely disappointed. He is one of the truest, old-school, vintage 2 guards I have seen in a long time. He just happens that he is on the smaller size and will play the "1" defensively. That's why his long term fit next to Green, Amen, and Sengun is so impeccable and salivating. We don't need him to be a massive creator. We don't need him to crash the paint and get to the rack at will. We need him to make open 3's while handling the ball occasionally, making good, safe passes which per the tape looks to be a massive strength of his. His fit was so seemingly perfect with our team that I laughed every time I saw Clingan posts. We may not have a super star but our 7 young players look to be such a solid fit and we can play a variety of different ways. We are entering such an exciting time to be a Rockets fan. LETS ****ING GO
I think if you watched him more, you'd have seen the budding PG skills. He makes really good reads, especially in transition, he manipulates the defense to spring guys open then hits them with perfectly timed passes.
Can't wait to see Sheppard pass the ball ahead to Jalen, Cam, and Amen. He's quite instinctive at pushing the pace.
Whether the coach started him or not, he played over 28.9 min per game. Maybe the coach was giving preference to older players, regardless of how much better they did with Reed on the court. Reed Sheppard was one of three players to qualify for my Productive Young Athlete query -- a statistical query with a 78% "stick" rate that focuses on productive freshmen. Additionally, Sheppard finished with the 15th-highest Box Plus-Minus for a freshmen since it began being tracked on Barttorvik.com in 2008. Sheppard shot a blistering 52.1% from three, ranked top-ten in the NCAA in steals per game (2.5) and box plus-minus (10.9). https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...pard-and-rob-dillingham-his-two-best-players/ https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/2024-nba-draft-reed-sheppard-scouting-report-01j0sp0kc5qa
He might be one of the best outlet passers I have seen. Goon is no joke either on that front. We have speed and good finishers. I'm ready for the season to start. I'm also so glad that Spurs traded Dill.
I'm looking forward to watching this lineup Sheppard Whitmore Eason Thompson Sengun Sengun playing the passing hub. Sheppard, Eason and Thompson playing that scrappy defense. Eason, Thompson and Sengun crashing the glass. Sheppard and Whitmore dropping open 3's when defenses collapse on Sengun. Gonna be beautiful!
Spurs fans have become completely unglued and are damn near ready to to get the pitchforks and torches. They are relentlessly trashing the management for making that deal.
As good as Payton Pritchard when starting. Drafting a backup at number 3 is a failure no matter how you spin it.
You are correct that there are only so many minutes but the cream always rises to the top. Ime will 100% be in win now mode this year. If Jalen or anyone starts off poorly they will be benched. The players who contribute most to winning will get the minutes. If that leave some of our assets out in the cold and decreases there value then that is just an unfortunate circumstance that comes with trying to win. It will increase competition and hopefully drive them to do better to earn minutes in practice and the time they are given.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5595491/2024/06/27/exclusive-with-rockets-first-round-pick-reed-sheppard-its-going-to-be-a-lot-of-fun/ “I think it spaces the floor,” new teammate Jalen Green told The Athletic. “We got a lot of young talent, a lot of athletes who can get downhill in transition. Spacing the floor is going to open up a lot of things and obviously, he adds shooting for us. We’re going to get a lot more 3s up.” Reed, the Rockets seemed to be your last stop before making your way over to New York. What about that visit felt right to you? I was able to build a relationship with the coaches and front office, and it just felt really good. They were very nice to me and my family; it felt like home. You can’t really explain that feeling, but it just felt that’s where I was supposed to be and it’s where I ended up. I’m super excited. I really don’t have a lot to say. It’s just a dream come true, and I can’t wait to get started. You mentioned conversations with the coaches. What was the nature of those talks? More of a potential fit with the current team or something else? The biggest thing right away is the shooting, just coming in and being able to knock down shots. But at the same time, coming in and doing what you do daily. Playing basketball the right way. Having a high IQ. Just doing the right basketball play. I’m excited just to get in and learn, compete and build relationships with all the guys and coaches even better. It’s going to be a lot of fun. There is a good amount of talent on this team — Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore to name a few. Where do you see yourself sliding into that group? Spacing the floor like you said, giving them room to do what they do. I’m not going in expecting anything. I’m not going in wanting to shoot 30 times a game. I’m going to do what’s best for the team, whatever the team needs is what I’m going to do. Can’t wait to get it going.
Such brilliant logic.....he played well in college, but was a backup none the less. Lookup his splits Starter/reserve. 4 losses and 1 win but a great floor general, horse####. My assessment is my assessment. Not changing it. I put my name to everything as I'm not a mindless robot that just follows and repeats the same party line mantra. Anyone can pull up past posts. To each their own.
Hopefully, we've seen our last 40-minute game from FVV. That put a lot of wear and tear on him over the course of the season.
He’s a guard. Increasingly, and the Rockets especially, teams are breaking down the positions to guards, forwards, and centers. The positions are getting blurred. Reed will guard the shortest guy when he is on defense and play a myriad of roles on offense.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/55...nners-losers-first-round-jazz-wizards-lakers/ Houston Rockets and Reed Sheppard To me, this is the best mix of talent and fit in the first round. I had Sheppard at No. 2 on my board, and I love that he ended up in Houston where his strengths will be accentuated and his potential weaknesses will be mitigated by the players around him. Sheppard is the best shooter in the class, and he enters a situation in Houston where he’ll get to play with several younger players like Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and potentially even Cam Whitmore, who have a chance to break down defenses when they’re in their prime. He also gets to play with Alperen Şengün, a combination in ball screens and dribble-handoffs that has potential to be dynamic. Sheppard is also one of the best transition players in the class, and he’ll pair with the best transition player in last year’s draft class in Thompson and another terrific transition player in Green. Can you imagine Thompson pushing the pace and finding Sheppard as a trailer behind the play after forcing defenders to filter to the rim? Or what about Thompson sprinting out to take advantage of Sheppard’s ability as a hit-ahead passer, where he is the best in the class at that particular skill? Defensively, I also love that Houston will have the kind of length on the wings and coverage across the court athletically to account for his size and tendency to gamble by using his elite anticipation to get steals and blocks. Sheppard will need to improve as a one-on-one defender and get stronger, no doubt. But the Rockets have potential to play an extremely aggressive defense around him that forces turnovers and creates those odd-man breaks that make him so lethal with this group. If Sheppard is going to work out in the NBA, I think he’s found the perfect home. He’s entering a young core that needs his shooting ability to space the court and could also use his ability to connect pieces around him with quick reads and floor spacing. I think there’s some serious upside in pairing Sheppard, Thompson and Green together if Green and Sheppard can just improve a little bit on defense. Their skill sets in the backcourt are incredibly complementary of one another, and in today’s NBA, you need multiple playmakers and ballhandlers all on the court at once.
“The Athletic even asked a few current Rockets players in the weeks leading up to the draft who they believed would be the choice, and their collective answer was Sheppard.” And he spent three days in Houston???!!!
