Reed is coming in as a combo guard, which is a tough transition. It'll take time for him to find a balance between facilitating and getting his own. Apart from his three point shooting, I've actually been pleased with his play. He has good poise on offense and his defensive instincts and hands are very good. Sure, he's a top 3 pick, but unlike Jalen and Jabari, he didn't walk into a starting role with a long leash and bright green light during a purely developmental phase. He's getting 11 minutes a night on a team that's actually trying to win. You can only expect so much.
Good comments. RS is getting more mins than I expected and has done ok. I’d give him about the same mins for a while to see if his confidence grows. He is passing up open threes as he adjusts to the speed of the game. Ime is mismanaging the sf rotation as I expected he would to start the season. He needs to get Amen and Tari more mins so that they can get back into rhythm and energize our defense and transition game. Eventually it will happen. I just hope he doesn’t waste many more winnable games like Charlotte and SA.
He was recruited to Kentucky as a legacy kid and not a top recruit the way most Kentucky guys are. He came off the bench at Kentucky and wasn't expected to be more than a late lottery pick until fairly late in the draft process. he's coming into a team filled with top lottery picks. It's very natural for him to be passive in this situation. The issue isn't whether he's playing timid and limited. You expect his role to be small. The issue is that players in front of him are playing badly that you wonder if he needs to be told to take on a greater scoring role.
He's not getting many spot-up opportunities. He's been open, but his teammates aren't finding him. I get the sense that they don't really trust him as I've seen them opt to pass to other players in worse positions. Is anyone else seeing this?
He's the 7th draft pick on the team in 4 years. He is currently low man on the totem pole. The Rockets are not where they were when Jalen came on board. I have no concerns about Reed at all. He will get his chance to step into a larger role in due time. Right now he just needs to learn the way the NBA works. I think once he gets a year or so under his belt we can begin to look at what he really has to offer.
By all accounts Reed has been told to shoot the ball when he's out there. But, I think the NBA is unique to other levels he played at. You can be a complete role player and have more of a green light to shoot than a guy that is considered to have a bigger role. In college, at times, he would run the point looking for guys like Dillingham to score. Now, on a break, he needs to instead give up the ball early to Amen or Jalen and find an open spot on the court. That leverages everyone's skills more. So, instead of getting a shaky Jalen mid range jumper you get an Amen dunk or Reed 3. Even, in the half court when the play isn't called for him you see him pass up a good shot for what may appear to be an even better shot but it's not when you consider who is shooting. Now, I'm assuming he's an elite shooter. He has to continue to shoot as if that's the case.
I hope reed pans out soon and is able to become a starting pg who can elevate his teammates bc fvv is gonna lead us to the bottom cellar this season
Yeah it's pretty clear Udoka has no desire to play Sheppard, so he might as well go to the Vipers when their season starts just so he can play and get ready for his next team.
He plays so tentative when he's on the game like He's to scared to make mistakes. He comes off a screen and is open doesn't ever shoot it. What is the point of being one best shooters if you never shoot the ball.
Dude needs to shave the porno-stache and go back to being redneck Justin Beiber, it's affecting his mojo. Shame it ended being a tight game, I'm really hoping we get to see the Reed/Steve-o bromance on the court.
3 minutes is unfortunate. I'm glad they are playing to win, but it's a shame a pick that high wasn't a part of it. He needs minutes.
Sheppard is in a weird spot. There are severe concerns defensively with him. He undoubtedly has quick hands, but he's undersized and not particularly quick, so to put less pressure on him you need at least a good rim protector (which the Rockets lack) to cover the blow by. Offensively, he's currently more of an SG than a PG, which is not a problem because he has the ability to develop into a PG (and he needs to, considering his size). However, before this transition happens, having him as the primary ball handler is problematic, which is why we see FVV and Reed play together at times. But if FVV is babysitting Reed, you may as well just sit Reed entirely because Whitmore's athleticism and size is far more useful on the court, and Reed's strength overlaps with FVV's. This is probably why Whitmore's minutes have steadily gone up. Unlocking Reed's potential likely will require Amen Thompson playing significantly better. Thompson can handle the ball, and his defensive versatility complements Reed's limitations. Unfortunately for Reed, the Rockets are trying to win games, so the Rockets will need to start getting bigger leads for Udoka to be comfortable with giving Reed more minutes.
