Harden was/is terrible at perimeter defense. He can be hidden by letting him guard in the post, where he is very good. Draymond and Kerr are the secret weapon to make up for Curry’s deficiencies. Amen can help make up for Reed’s defensivedeficiencies and Reed can make up for Amen’s offensive deficiencies (3 pt shooting) so they need to be on the court together most of the time as the team is currently constructed.
so we can then b**** and moan about no shooting and not having a decent guard Its amazing that some people can't realize the coach constructed the roster unsurprisingly full of players with the style he likes from the 1-5 only plays players that play that style of ball then unsurprisingly deal with the issues that come with that and then act surprised
This is a thread about Reed's defense, not his overall play. I have argued in other threads and you can check them, that Reed is someone the Rockets need to develop and play more. Because yes he does bring a lot to the game. But specifically on his defense, and there were games where I focused on him every defensive possession when he was on the court, even I could see him just not being good enough to stay in front of even mediocre guards. That's just bad no matter how you slice it.
I don't think I suggested that? I have repeatedly stated that Sheppard's defensive ability is largely match up dependent. However, his defense is no more of a liability than Sengun's defense - or Amen Thompson's inability to shoot from the perimeter ......... or any of about 5-10 other issues the team has. Reed Sheppard does a number of things well. He is the best passer and ball protector on the Rockets. He also is the best at establishing pace. He is an explosive perimeter player as a scorer and a good decoy as well. As for Maxey - he shot very poorly from the perimeter, 2-10, he made his money in the lane where the Rockets offer no opposition at all. He was 13-18 from close to the basket, and didn't even really go to the lane. He had 36 points on 28 shots. The Rockets couldn't stop Joel Embiid. The Rockets can certainly add another guard, but you are not likely to see a big +/- difference, because there are seldom point guards that defend well and stretch the defense. Which means less minutes for Thompson and other players that don't stretch the defense. I agree that Reed and Thompson have the potential to be an exceptionally nasty duo - especially when Reed is confident and hitting shots. Also, Amen and Reed in transition offense is flat nasty.
It sure would be fun to watch the '16 Worriers playing 10 years later against teams that are all shooting volume 3 pointers. Flop and do moving screens. That was not the case back then.
Udoka: "STFU Reed - get in the paint and don't let Embiid score on you." Sheppard: "Huh?" Udoka: "You heard me f*****."
Reed's defense is not important - for the team's success, his offense is....it outweighs his sometimes poor defense. He will get better, but he needs to be on the floor. Team defense can help - especially with a rim protecting big...like Capela. DD
Udoka has lost his mind. Too bad Stone the puppet won’t do anything. Pat Fertitta needs to start making moves like he’s Pat Riley.
This is classic eye test vs stats.... I feel like the eye test is right and clearly the coaching staff does as well. Here is an AI summary: Defensive Concerns (2:51-3:18): The hosts emphasize that Sheppard's current offensive performance isn't enough to compensate for his defensive weaknesses, especially when facing physically strong guards. Impact of Specific Matchups (5:57-7:11): In the Oklahoma City Thunder game, Sheppard was targeted defensively, directly contributing to 14 points against his team in just 16 minutes. Contrasting Defensive Metrics (7:44-8:17): Interestingly, the Rockets concede 112.8 points per 100 possessions with Sheppard on the court compared to 113.3 points when he's off, suggesting that overall, the team performs better defensively with him. Playoff Strategy and Exploitation (8:20-8:42): Despite the nuanced statistics, the hosts believe that good teams, especially in the playoffs, will intentionally exploit Sheppard's defensive vulnerabilities.
You bring up an EXCELLENT POINT! Really! And its not just Reed, it's Sengun too. To many times he is a weak link defensively. And maybe I can better clarify like this. If you are a team and all 5 players are playing collectively on the defensive end and you get a stop, it spurs, no pond intended, you on. You get a RUSH. But if you have one or two players who are not playing as hard or you see them constantly being picked on defensively, it causes you to not try as hard, because you know your hard work is in vain. And thats what I see on this yr's Rockets team. They are playing defense in spurts. If you play Reed and Sengun together, you will lose all hope defensively from the other 3 players on the court. This is why I think the Rockets do not have an IDENTITY. They have a mixture of players who excell only on one end of the court.
I don't really see how you can watch the games and not see this undersized guard get constantly blown by at the point of attack and not being very good at man defense. Sure he has good hands and does cause some havoc, especially when playing weak side or helping.... but it's pretty much an automatic basket when he gambles and loses.
You genuinely could not wait for any opportunity to add Sengun in to your narrative, could you? You're the most transparently biased troll on the site tbh.
THANK YOU! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? Thank you for posting but ROFs are still not going to believe it. Same with SOFs. Games are won DEFENSIVELY
Well, like they always say, "IF THE SHOE FITS". I think the same rule applies to Sengun and Reed. They are strictly offensive players, who try occasionally on the defensive end. And for them to be as effective as you and others want them to be, they have to be HIGHLY ELITE on the offensive end. Similar to a Steph Curry or James Harden. You can not be avg or slightly above avg on offense and a cone on defense, opposing teams will pick you out every time! I KNOW THE TRUTH HURTS
Does anyone have Ime fax number maybe? Because I really don’t think he reads posts like this online, if he did maybe he would open his eyes by now.. Maybe he’s just an old fashion guy, that likes to read the paper in the mornings, so if we fax him this thread, maybe he can take this paper and get some sense. I mean, he likes playing with double-bigs lineups like we’re still in the 90’s, so he might be using fax as well..
Now, if I see that and you see that, why aren't others seeing the same thing? I watched the game on SCHN, maybe they're watching the game on the HOPE CHANNEL. Hoping the player they root is playing better defensively
More so Jabari. I rarely see him stop a wing who can dribble/penetrate. Jabari has length, but no quickness, strength, or lateral quickness at the point of attack. Jabari's strength as a defender is his weak side help where he can use his length and can get a step or two to get off his feet.
