I feel some of this aimed at me for stirring the pot, which I guess is fair but don’t get one thing twisted: I want Reed Sheppard to succeed. What I’m doing is pointing out how my tempered take was extremely accurate and the dogshit honk takes were that then and that now. This is pretty much what I expected, which is why I wanted Knecht. Didn’t happen that way. No biggie. Reed is my guy now, he wears the right laundry. Betting on Knecht and Reed’s 3% is dumb. I’m here to take my digs, not make stupid bets about a good shooter finding his stroke finally. Low volume shooter too, if he goes out and has a 4/4 game or two like he’s capable of suddenly he’s gonna be turning the corner and all that. When really, Knecht is starting, shooting twice as much and having greater success because he was more prepared for it, exactly like I had opined 6 months ago. Mostly just wanted to laugh at these god awful takes from the heart bubble crew. Turnabout is fair play. Go Rockets
Yeah. I mean it looks like Reed was a massive reach at 3. That doesn't mean he won't end up being an important piece in the rotation. I like his game for the most part. You know he can shoot it, he doesn't make a lot of mistakes, he'll come around, but his draft position is going to sting for a while.
I still haven’t been impressed by anyone taken after Reed that was in our draft range that fills a need for this team besides Clingan. Everyone should just chill a bit. McCain/Knecht were never going to be top 5 picks. Castle can’t shoot and would be stuck behind Amen.
Okay, this feels like the Giannis or Joker draft where later picks turn out to be gems.....alright. Obviously not MVP good but at least borderline All Star good perhaps.
What was everybody expecting from a college bench player? People were looking for Reed to come in and take starters spots. If I were Aaron Holiday I would be pissed.
His size was my greatest fear. I didn't really see a ton of star potential, but more of a really great connector. I thought he could be a smaller Derrick White optimistically.
Jaylen Wells is horribly overlooked and flying under the radar lol......I doubt anyone has mentioned his name yet he is constantly among the Top 6 in the Rookie rankings......
? Korver was a career 42.9% (3P%).....averaged 9.7 pts per game in his career. JJ Redick was a career 41.5% (3P%)....avg 12.8 pts per game in his career. Steve Kerr was a career 45.4% (3P%)....avg 6.0 pts per game in his career. You don't draft a 6'2" spot shooter #3. If Jalen Green with his speed and leaping ability gets his shot blocked near the rim, what in the h### were people thinking about Reed driving and getting layups or dunks??? People here told me TyTy was our point guard of the future. He would set up Sengun near the rim. TyTy didn't have a 3-point shot coming into the league. I told members here that Wheeler was the point guard not TyTy. If he couldn't beat out Wheeler how is he going to beat out pro level point guards? I told people Amen would need 2 or 3 years to develop a jump shot. Tilman said we better win now......I said Amen lack of shot would hurt our chances. Again people said he was a great point guard, great vision, tremendous passer. By seasons end the same knuckleheads were saying we need a point guard to set up Sengun. I said, you knuckleheads brought in Amen......allow him to work it out. Now people want to give Reed years and Amen looks like our point guard of the future. MEANING DRAFTING REED WAS A WASTE OF A DRAFT PICK. Why the F would I want a 6'3" shooting guard? The reason Mark Price could stay on the court was because back then teams didn't have multiple good shooters from 3 like they do today. In 1995 the team with the most 3PA's were: 1) Mavs: 24.9 (3PA's) per game. 2) Rockets 21.5 (3PA's) per game. 3) Magic 20.1 (3PA's) per game. Now teams shoot 45 plus 3's a game......spread the floor with multiple shooters.....spacing forcing switching on defense.......NOW DIMINUTIVE GUARDS GET TARGETED NEAR THE RIM BY BIGGER, STRONGER PLAYERS. Right now: 24 games Reed Sheppard: 3.8 pts....1.0 Rebs....1.3 Ast.....35.7 (FG%).....30.4 (3P%) Dalton Knecht: 11.0 pts....3.5 Rebs....1.2 Ast.....46.9 (FG%).....39.1 (3P%)
I've ignored this and similar threads, and I usually don't post in the GARM during the season, but since I was a big Reed fan, I'll provide my updated thoughts. Yeah he kinda sucks haha. I'm not overreacting about it though. I was a big Amen fan too, and I recall a lot of people upset with him around this time last year. Couldn't dribble, couldn't score, couldn't stay healthy, etc. And he's had quite the turnaround. Even though I was a huge Amen fan, I projected him as a high end playmaker with meh defense, and he's been more like the opposite haha. So I'm terrible at projections even when I'm right about a player being good. Figured he'd be monster in transition though, but that's a "duh" projection. Of course no matter what Amen does, he'll always be a genetic freak with high BBIQ, whereas if Reed can't hit shots...he's not so great. I don't mind him missing shots (hey he fits in with this team perfectly!), but I haven't liked how passive he is at times. I did see that in some of the college tape, and it seems more extreme now. I guess he's a bit better lately, although still bricking. Again, not going to overreact, but this definitely ups his chances of being a bust/meh player. I do think his hands on defense have translated well. If he could just figure out the rest of his game, I think lineups with Reed, Amen, and Tari would be a ton of fun to watch. His defense overall is pretty bad though. He sorta tries (so good effort unlike some), but I don't like his physicality (or lack thereof). Yeah he's small, but he's bigger (and more athletic) than some other guards in the league. This was another thing I noticed in his college tape, and for sure he'll have to learn to improve his physicality to play on an Ime-coached team. So yeah, not a lot of great. I do think some of these things are fixable, and hopefully he'll make progress with more reps.
I don't think there's anything Sheppard can do to make me sour on his potential as a prospect this year. PG is the hardest position to learn, and when you look at the rookie seasons of the all time greats it's such a hodge podge. His timer starts ticking at the beginning of next season; anything that happens this year is just gravy baby.
#3 while high, was by consensus a weak draft. That plus limited available minutes on this current Rockets squad, had adjusted my expectations before the season.
I STILL can not believe the Rocket's FO missed this Medicine N Music and the 70+ others who LONGED for Reed Sheppard, can you let us know your assessment of him now? Just curious
I don't really view it as he's struggling to learn how to play PG because that's not really what he was drafted for. He seemed more like a combo guard than PG. If he was shooting like 36% 3pt and everything else was the same then everything would be ok as he would seem like he's on the right trajectory.
reed will be an established starter going into 2026-27 season with raves about his upward projection.
Yes, Reed has played poorly. But who would we have picked in hindsight that would have been realistic on draft day? By that, I'm saying there is no way we take Knecht, Wells, or Mccain at #3. If someone has the receipts from a draft thread then they can talk, but even still, we're only 1/4 through the first season. Let's look at the other most mocked #3 picks that the Rockets passed on. Please remember, I'm only judging these players based on what we've seen so far, just like Sheppard. Castle- Shooting worse than Jalen Green, that's not the answer. Sub 40% from the field, Sub 30% from 3. I know he's solid defensively, but we weren't looking for that pre-draft. If someone tells Stone pre-draft that Castle will give you great D, but will shoot 38%/28%, he passes. Holland- Shooting 42% from the field, 18% from 3. Averages more turnovers than assists, and only 5 PPG. Salaun- Shooting 32% from the field, 29% from 3. Not above average at anything, except maybe steals from the 3 position, which we have covered. Averages 5 PPG Clingan- I actually like this kid, I think he looks great. That said, our best player and highest paid player plays the same position, and Alpy can't really play with Clingan due to his lack of ability to stretch the floor. We already had 2 backup centers averaging 10 million a season each. It really only makes sense to take Clingan if you're trading Sengun. Also, Clingan hasn't played since before Thanksgiving due to an injury. Could be a fluke, but big men like that get hurt more often, and he has basically already missed half of his rookie season. In hindsight, he makes sense for the Wizards at #2, but not the Rockets at #3 Edey- Similar logic to Clingan about fit. He was mocked at the bottom half of the 1st round. Would have been a massive stretch at #3. Dillingham- 50% from the field, 50% from 3. He looks good, but crazy small sample size. Rob is averaging less than 4 PPG and was occasionally mocked outside the lottery, and never mocked ahead of Sheppard. I remember in 1999 listening to Gene on the radio when the Rockets were playing the Mavs, and Gene was saying "this poor kid is getting booed by his own crowd". The kid was a 25 year-old Steve Nash, and at the time he was shooting like 38% from the field. This was also his 3rd season in the league, unlike Reed who is closer to his 3rd week in the league. Here is quote from Nash about that exact moment. "It was a rough ride in Dallas at first. There was a time, I got booed every time I touched the ball. So, I'd get it after they'd score, dribble up the court. They booed me. I went 0 for 8. We were playing like... and it was when we were one of the worst teams in the league. We were playing the Rockets - Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, so it's sold-out in Dallas - got booed at home every time I touched the ball. Crazy, right?" This post is to give context. I know it's frustrating, but just like Jalen and Jabari, Reed was the consensus pick at his draft slot by almost all mocks and GMs. Sometimes you lose when you double down on 11, or go all in on pocket Aces. Maybe we should wait longer than 1/4 of a season to declare him a bust.
