Dude looks legit in g league I’ll admit it. Maybe it’s hard to just come into a game cold and play 10 mins.
Good to see him explode down there. I'm sure he gets another chance in the rotation after some of these reps and hopefully he will be ready.
In the summer before Sheppard's junior season of high school, he shot 32.9% from three-point range on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, making an average of 2.3 of his 7 attempts per game. A year later, during his final grassroots season, he shot 30.9% from three in 19 games on the circuit, hitting 1.8 of his 5.8 attempts per game. In his senior year of high school, across the seven games captured by Synergy Sports, he shot 15-for-58 from three (34.9%). In other words, Sheppard had never shot better than 35% from three in any high school setting prior to hitting a whopping 52% at Kentucky. To be clear, our high school evaluation was wrong. That became apparent early in his freshman season and remains apparent today --- albeit not quite as wrong as it seemed six months ago. While the numbers might suggest last year was the exception, not the rule, that's likely going too far the other way. Heading into the draft, I believed Sheppard would become a very good NBA shooter and player, just not a historic one. Similarly, while Sheppard's defensive metrics at Kentucky were stellar, some overrated his lateral quickness. He has terrific hands but lacks exceptional quickness or length, limiting him in certain matchups. Another factor to note: Sheppard's minutes in Houston have come primarily off the ball, consistent with his high school evaluation as more of a combo guard than a true point guard. This stems from a relatively high turnover rate and greater comfort when not initiating every possession. Still, this doesn't impact the long-term outlook for Sheppard. He's likely to play a starring role for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, get his rhythm back, and return to Houston soon. Just look at his G League debut: 49 points on eight three-pointers, with six assists, five rebounds and three steals. It may be a lower level of competition with more freedom, but that's the benefit. Tuesday's game, and possibly Thursday's as well, offer Sheppard a great chance to regain his rhythm and confidence. Afterward, with the Vipers taking a six-day layoff, Sheppard could be back with the Rockets in less than a week.
It's a matter of feeling comfortable on the court. He actually started out that way in this game, looking awkward, rushing his shots. It wasn't until he started to relax a bit that he really started playing well. Imo that's his issue at the NBA level as well.... only he never got the playing time and usage to overcome it.
It would take injuries/suspensions for Fred, Jalen, Amen and Aaron at the same time for us to get to see Reed have that level of minutes and freedom to operate this year.
Add Cam to that list too. It would take a coach that actively wanted to develop Sheppard to get him minutes and touches... a coach that also wouldn't do that for Amen at the start of last season either. In the end it'll be alright probably
I don't look at these things for execution. I look at them as a window into our practices. Plays like this don't happen spontaneously, meaning it shows what Coach believes in enough to practice, and to call in a game. The Elevators I saw last year the defenders do sniff out early. If the screeners try to "close the door" too soon, it's easy to go around it. It is a long developing play, when you consider the shooter is running away from the basket (usually), so needs enough space to catch, turn around, set, and fire.
Bobby is the adult at the family picnic basketball game who always relives the time the roll he got on while his 8 year old nephew was guarding him.
Let's see how he is when he comes back. Hopefully he isn't a Jimmer and just kills it in the G league.
Thanks. I was trying to find his high school stats and couldn't. I would have been more worried had I known that he wasn't a good shooter in HS.
6 assists is good - especially in his first game and when he was expected to Reed Sheppard is going to be a very good NBA three point shooter. He may not be the best in the NBA and he won't shoot 53% like he did in college, but he is going to be a volume three point shooter that hits in the high 30's%-40's%. His form and release is excellent and he always replicates it - also if anyone has seen him in practice, he can hit from really deep. He just has a feel for shooting from the perimeter. As far as whether he is a point guard or a combo guard? Okay? I don't think it really matters.... he is very good at running the show but is also adept at coming off screens and pulling up. Ideally he plays next to someone that can play both roles. The point is that offensively and defensively you can plug him in at the 1. Reed Sheppard is a really strong athlete - he isn't an Amen Thompson level athlete, but he is a good good athlete that does things like cut corners well around defenders, can jump well and can blow by people off a pick. Defensively Sheppard has been very good defensively in some match ups and has struggled against others - but most of his issues the last month have been not making the proper defensive play. He is going to be a solid defender overall because he is smart. He does need to get stronger though, that is his biggest need defensively.
