Nope, he never had the luxury that Green had so him coming into the league at 18...... It was not until his third year that he averaged about 30 minutes per game on a more than decent Usage rate. So 5 years before playing with Yao and playing with a below average supporting cast in Orlando (4 Years).
Someone (I think @roslolian) posted that Reed got cooked on defense every time he was the defender. According to nba.com, people went 4-9 when he was the defender. Not amazing, but also not terrible. My main thing with him right now is that I would like for him to be much more aggressive/assertive on offense. Ime has been giving him some minutes every game. And he hasn't really made many mistakes, and he has played decent defense. The shot hasn't been falling as it eventually will. But I would rather see him take some more risks and "flash" his abilities, even at the risk of making mistakes. I remember the early, early days of Nash's career. His stats would be underwhelming, but a few games, he got extended minutes and suddenly had outbursts of scoring or a super high assist game. That has to happen for Reed, eventually, to gain confidence. But like in other aspects of life, things become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are confident and take risks, you can reap rewards. You need to play to win, not to not lose. Basically, I want him to be a bit more like Cam, and Cam to be a bit more like Reed lol. I'm still 100 % confident that Reed will get there and that he was the right pick, but as I said from the beginning, it will take more time than some people thought it would. Look at the 1996 NBA draft. After season 1, who would have wanted Steve Nash instead of Kerry Kittles or Stephon Marbury?
Looking at whether the guy made the shot or not is misleading because there are other players bothering his shot or maybe the guy just missed. There was at least one possession Bones Hyland blew by Sheppard and then missed the layup. That gets credited as Sheppard's "defense" when in reality Hyland just didnt finish and Sheppard was just running beside him escorting him to the basket. KPJ isnt a very skilled player he missed so many attempts at the basket but he still got by Sheppard multiple times. That also gets credited to Sheppards defense. A lot of times the opposite is also true, Jalen would always run hard to contest the 3 pter but then the dude would make the shot, making it Jalen's "bad defense". In the Sacramento loss for example it looked like the Rox were bad defensively but in reality Sacramento was just making heat check 3s with guys right in their face B2B2B. Thats why watching the game should be done in conjunction with an eye at the stats. You cant just do one thing.
I watched the entire game, and you saying he got cooked every time on defense is simply untrue. I don't know why you are so obsessed with somehow proving he sucks, but eventually, you will be proven wrong. It will just take time, just like it did with Mark Price, Steve Nash, Stockton, etc.
His shooting is kind of like Jabari's rookie year, except that Jabari played starter minutes while Reed plays limited time. Shooters will be able to hit shot when they are confident. Reed needs to do more of those pull up middies off the screen. It's frustrating to see that he's open on those drives and he did not pull up and shoot, but just picked up the dribble instead.
https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=DEF_FGA&GameID=0022400356&OppPlayerID=1641757&PlayerID=1642263&Season=2024-25&SeasonType=Regular Season&TeamID=1610612745&flag=1&sct=plot§ion=game https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=DEF_FGA&GameID=0022400356&OppPlayerID=1629645&PlayerID=1642263&Season=2024-25&SeasonType=Regular Season&TeamID=1610612745&flag=1&sct=plot§ion=game https://www.nba.com/stats/events?CFID=&CFPARAMS=&ContextMeasure=DEF_FGA&GameID=0022400356&OppPlayerID=1630538&PlayerID=1642263&Season=2024-25&SeasonType=Regular Season&TeamID=1610612745&flag=1&sct=plot§ion=game These were all the shots he defended (with video - not sure how to embed). Like always, sometimes you play defense as well as you can, and the player still makes the shot. Sometimes, you lose your guy, and he misses anyway. Not that much to learn from this.
I'm not obsessed I'm just calling it how I see it. We all know Ime only cares about defense if Sheppard was a good defender he'd get more than 11 mpg.
I think Holiday has probably supplanted Reed for now in the rotation. I'm not sure it's the right thing to do since this is still a development year, but we really need shooting and Holiday is knocking them down and Sheppard is not. Sheppard is playing better on defense so who knows.
Actually those clips showed my point in the first clip you can see Sheppard be too slow to catch up when he got screened and he just escorted the scorer to the rim. He couldnt stay in front of his man. Make or miss he failed his defensive assignment there. The second clip he stayed in front of KPJ but was too short and short armed to bother the shot. Again make or miss thats on him being too short. The third clip proved my point Hyland lost him on the jumper Hyland just missed. Those are the kinds of misses that happened thats not due to Sheppards defense lol. Maybe you think he isnt getting cooked in those instances but to me if you lost the guy due to a screen and he has a wide open look then you got cooked. If you failed to contest the shot due to being too short then you got cooked. If your guy has an open shot then you got cooked make or miss doesnt matter. He isnt an elite defender. He is imo a below average defender(he is a C if Holiday is a D), but tonight he seemed esp bad.
It's his hands. He has undeniably quick hands, and that helps his defense a lot. I don't think he's a great defender, but he's much better than I would have guessed.
Anybody claiming he is an elite defender is only seeing his steals. He is definitely targeted. His defense is better than I would have thought, but his size and lack of speed will always make him mediocre at best.
You are comparing a whole season with less than a third of the season. C'mon, you and coachbadlee are obsessed. Everybody can see it. You try to rebuff every positive thing posted about Reed. I've been on this board for a long time. I can smell the difference between hating and fair criticism.
I dont hate Sheppard but I dont like people glazing him up for stuff they are hating on others for. I try to rebuff the "positive" things people say about Sheppard because it isnt true and just glaze. Its one thing if the poster was a Rocket fan boy but the people praise Sheppard then hate on Jalen or Jabari who is better than Sheppard. Obv as a Rocket fan with mo bias I will get angry at the blatant favoritism He is steve nash. He is the purest shooter. He is the best defensive rookie. Other teams are afraid of him. Bruh if you are making these kinds of claims obv I will object. Jalen Green is closer to Kobe than Sheppard is to Steve Nash but people still keep saying he is Steve Nash. I actually said a lot of positive things about Sheppard predraft and after his first SL game where he scored 22 pts. Look it up. I give praise where it is due and the opposite as well. Why will I praise 6 ppg or less? Or 0fer in 10 mins? Just ask yourself why we used a top 3 pick for 46% TS scorer? Maybe he improves in the future but till then when he sucks I'll say he sucks. When he plays great I'll praise him. Its called based on merit not favoritism or bias. His best game is 12 pts in 20 or so games. For a top 3 pick thats just abysmal I dunno about you. For reference JG had 30 in his first 5 and Jabari had 18 his 6th game. I'm a Rocket fan not a Reed fan. Look at my posts I have loved and hated on every player depending on performance. Both of us as posters both go way back so not sure why you think I will suddenly have a hate boner for a rocket rookie out of the blue. I remember when I was first critical of Sheppard you told me its just the first day. Then it was the first week. Now its quarter thru the season. When will you admit he sucks RN?
Let’s just go back to fundamentals. The kid needs to learn to move without the ball. He’ll get batter looks if he moves without the ball. It’s pretty basic; im shocked the coaches aren’t on him about it. He just stands there when the ball isn’t in his hands. So I’m looking to see him be more active without the ball. Just that. Over the summer I need to see him build muscle and strength. It will help his point of attack defense. He also has to continue to work on his handles. If he can do those things he’s going to come in ready to play as a sophomore. I’m not worried about the shooting. He’s weak, out of position, unsure of himself…all these things are common for a rookie and they can all be corrected.
Man.. you guys in here acting like we just drafted Anthony Bennett. Reed has shown an ability to stay within the offense and be decent on defense. He gives effort and seems to have a good basketball IQ. He's played the equivalent of 5-6 full NBA games, at this point. We should probably give him a little more time... NBA careers aren't made or broken in 280 minutes of playing time.
A couple of year? Fair enough? Do you judge a player after only a third of the season with limited minutes? Plenty of people "glaze" Sengun, Jalen, Cam, etc. Why aren't you spending the same energy rebuffing them? I never buy the "I don't hate the player, just his fans" claim. If you don't hate the player, you will tolerate his fans even when they overrate the guy.
2 yrs is too long to say he sucks. He sucks is the current state of his play. You never waited 2 yrs to criticize Jalen so why is there a 2 yr ceasefire for Sheppard? Saying he sucks RN is different from saying he is a bust. He can be a future star and still be a scrub today. Just like Jabari. Jabari was god awful his rookie year now he is much better. You can say Jabari sicked his rookie year but still know he can improve. People arent one dimensional. Sengun has actually played up to the hype. He is on track to being an allstar what needs to be rebuffed? Jalen look up the Jalen numero uno thread my post criticizing Jalen should be within last 3 pages. Cam I said he has no brain multiple times. Which poster said teams are afraid of Jalen Green and game plan against him because he is that good during the times he is bricking every shot? Which poster still said Jalen is gonna be Kobe last year pre all star break? I'll wait.
He's been fine on defense, better than I thought he might be early in his career. He does need to start hitting his 3s though. I still have hope that will start clicking for him soon.
There's never been a better case for a guy to be in the G-league trying to regain his confidence & play every day - he is by far the worst rotation player on the Rockets and they have a quality replacement in Holiday. They don't even have to send him every day, just let him get in a game now and then.
