He the worst defensive player ever...and somehow the Rockets are better with him defensively than they without him on the floor. Now that's probably statistical noise, but he's clearly not the defensive disaster some people seem to think. His offense has been the actual problem. I know some posters refuse to believe shading is a viable defensive strategy, but the fact that Udoka lets on the floor at all doing so should tell you he doesn't hate it.
This is the same franchise that started Aaron Brooks for multiple seasons, in no way is Reed the worst defender we've had He does need to gamble less and do a better job staying in front of his man. Take some lessons from Fred. Hopefully NBA training programs will be able to help with his footwork and lateral quickness a bit.
Lets look at everything on the surface. 1) Reed Sheppard played his best game as a Rocket with 25pts! He looked smooth. Also, he had a 49pt game in the G-League. 2) Cam had his best game as a Rocket last night. 3) Jalen looked sharp last night with the minutes he played. Plus him and Amen have been looking EXCEPTIONALLY good with the ball in their hands. Going back to the 11 game win streak last yr. 4) They scored 128 pts with bench players and one starter last night!! The offense looked smooth and the ball was moving! SO, WHY DOES KEEP GOING BACK TO FEATURING SENGUN AND FVV IN THE PNR?? To me, it seems Reed is best when he is able to HUNT his shot and the lanes are OPEN, similar to when he was a UK. Same for Jalen, Amen, Tari, Jabari, Cam, etc. They prefer to speed the pace up and move the ball around. Look at what he's saying! Getting up and down the court.....i.e, PUSHING THE BALL. Not coming down and setting up It's like Ime is forcing everyone else on the team to play around Sengun and FVV.
It's hard to say if he can ever bulk up enough to be a stout man-defender like FVV or CP3. Those are more exceptions than the rules in terms of smaller guards. But on this Rockets team he shouldn't really have to handle that role. This team should be talented enough on defense to fit in a Reed Sheppard. Similar to how Curry didn't prevent the Warriors from having top defenses every year back in the Warriors heydays.
I'm not that concerned with Reed's defense. First of all, his body very obviously has maturing to do and that will help with his strength. He also has no reputation with the refs, so he can't use physicality to defend without picking up fouls. That's just life as a rookie. As far as defensive talent goes, I see Reed like a kid who self taught himself to play an instrument but can't read sheet music. He clearly has good instincts and quick hands, but now that he's in the NBA, those aren't enough. He has to learn to read the sheet music. And even if he's never particularly good on that end, NBA history is littered with guys who played huge roles despite not even pretending to try on defense. As long as he can rise above being a human turnstyle, he'll be fine.
"One thing I find interesting is that defensive obsessive Ime Udoka is thus far allowing Sheppard’s unorthodox defensive positioning. Sheppard when facing up against an offensive player will overplay one side, thus more or less guaranteeing that the player will drive to the side Reed left underplayed. He then likes to dart in behind that player for a steal attempt and also to be behind the driver for a trap with the help big, because usually the opponent drives to the side Sheppard deliberately opened up. So while it looks like Reed was beaten, he deliberately allowed the opponent a driving lane for a reason." https://www.thedreamshake.com/tdspl...ckets-2024-2025-player-previews-reed-sheppard
This seems like it would work better at lower level basketball but not the pro’s. Most player can go strong left or right
Thanks for fighting the good fight. I lost the energy a while ago and just decided to let the results ultimately speak. I've been saying for a while that by every defensive metric Reed is a better and more impactful defender than Holiday. Even the eye test should show that. But people keep harping on his defense when it's really been his offense that has kept him from getting minutes.
I was thinking if you asked me before the game whether I'd be willing to throw the game in exchange for somehow guaranteeing Sheppard has a big game, I would probably do it. If he comes online as a backup PG these last 20+ games, he will help our spacing a lot.
