I don't think he knows how to play point guard yet. He is an undersized shooting guard with point guard ball handling potential. He just needs to keep practicing and getting PT at the position. Good thing is that he's not afraid to be in an uncomfortable position or make mistakes. That bodes well for him to learn quickly. Once the 'drinking from the firehose' slows down, I bet his shot comes back.
Cleverly disguised "we all underrated Thicc Nix at our peril" post. if there's anything he can use bulk to crush, it's a Slender Reed.
I knew Stone made a huge mistake when Nix got waived. It will go down in Rockets lore as one of the most embarrassing blunder a GM could make.
After seeing him play 4 games in a Rockets uniform I still standby my original assumption that playing PG is asking a lot of him. That being said, I really like what I've seen in terms of his decision making and ability to find open guys great shots and looks. Especially love the outlet passes up the court. We have some of the fastest players in the league so adding a player like this will make our transition offense really exciting, I'm just drooling at the possibility of Jalen and Amen being initiators then kicking out to Reed who will start a chain reaction of closeouts. With Reed and Jabari as floor spacers, our offense really should shoot up the rankings next year. We ranked 20th in Offensive Rating last year. I'm expecting at least 10-12th this year...maybe higher if some of our other guys (cough Jalen, Jabari, Fred....) step up their efficiency. A future backcourt of Reed - Jalen - Amen really could have a great cohesion and synergy where each player can pickup the deficiencies of each other. I'm so excited to watch these guys play in a couple months.
He may not be the BEST player but he might be the most important one.....a guy who ties all the pieces together and plays unselfish WIN FIRST basketball. That kind of person is someone everyone else follows. That is Threed Sheppard. DD
I think Reed is great. But I think we will bring him along carefully. He won't be ROY because he will probably only get Aaron Holiday's minutes or a bit more, barring injuries.
As a reminder, here are the archetypes: John Stockton Rookie year, age 22 (bench): 5.6 PPG, 5.1 APG, 1.3 SPG Second year, age 23: (bench): 7.7, 7.4, 1.9 Third year, age 24 (bench): 7.9, 8.2, 2.2 Fourth year, age 25 (starter): 14.7, 13.8, 3.0, All-NBA Second Team Steve Nash Rookie year, age 22 (bench): 3.3, 2.1, 0.3 Second year, age 23 (bench): 9.1, 3.4, 0.8 Third year, age 24 (starter): 7.9. 5.5, 0.9 Fourth year, age 25 (starter): 8.6, 4.9, 0.7 Fifth year, age 26 (starter): 15.6, 7.3, 1.0 Mark Price Rookie year, age 22 (bench): 6.9, 3.0, 0.6 Second year, age 23 (starter): 16.0, 6.0, 1.2 Third year, age 24 (starter): 18.9, 8.4, 1.5, All-NBA Third Team Fourth year, age 25 (starter): 19.6, 9.1, 1.6 So, if we see anything before age 23 we are playing with house money.
Some folks outside the Rockets' fanbase expressing opinions. I'm not sure I agree with everything, but interesting to hear others' takes. It sorta starts around 7:25...
No disagreement there but you're also paying out the ass for nothing. Just playing a little devils advocate.
While I think Sheppard is going to outperform their rookie and sophomore years, this is a strong argument for giving Fvv an extension and let Reed ease into the starting lineup in year 3 or 4.
