Mark Price (Reed) Kobe without the mentality/Jaylen Brown (Jalen/Cam) Sprewell/Kawhi (Amen/Tari) Bosh/Horry (Bari) Jokic (Alpi)
I just don't see Sheppard as that level of playmaking pure point guard. If he ever averages double digit assists in a season I'll be shocked, let alone once you adjust for the pace of the era Price played in. Sheppard could maybe get to that FVV level of being a good game manager type and average 7 to 8 assists at his peak. More likely he'll end up somewhere in the 5 to 7 range though. Edit: In terms of the scoring numbers, sure. I can see Price as a ceiling.
FYI if you're looking at that season Price averaged more than 10 assists, keep in mind he only played 16 games that season. Though to your point about that number specifically, I don't think Reed is at that elite PG/assist level either. Especially in Houston since I don't think he'd get the usage for it. I think FVV level or maybe a bit above that depending on how things go. I do think he has the processing, vision, etc to be a good PG, but not sure if he can put it together. I'd probably go with Amen (if potential is met) to do the bulk of the playmaking since I think he's just as good, but bigger, more athletic, etc., but Reed would be a good counter at times.
I don't get the logic personally. Why do you think Amen would be a better PG? His assist/turnover ratio isn't good 2.4/1.3, he's not a good FT shooter 68.4%, and is terrible 3 PT shooter 13.8%. Why not just give him more of Brook's minutes, and give Sheppard some of FVV's minutes, and Cam some of Jalen's minutes? Reed is a good passer, is good at steals, has great court vision, a high BBIQ, and the kid can shoot really well. I think those are all good skills for a PG.
Yeah but again growth is not linear, different eras, different conferences, different everything, and you can't just extrapolate from the stats, you have to look at the whole picture including scouting reports, watching tape, etc.
Price was more of a conventional PG........I think Sheppard will be more used as a (guess who) Malcolm Brogdon the shooting version. But if Shepp turns out to become a true PG, then the Rockets have another ace up their sleeves..... but we said the same things about KPJ, Green, Amen etc.....
Its been a long time, so i understand people don't remember, but he was 100% a shooting guard in college. He didn't handle the ball AT ALL. He averaged 1.9 assists/per vs 2 turnovers/per for his career (vs 17 points /per). Edit - these numbers are off, as I read it wrong. It was 4 assist vs 2.7 TO's but the point stands. He wasn't a point guard at all. That's why he ended up going in the second round - people didn't know what to do with a 5'11" shooting guard and the prevailing wisdom was he might not be able to play the point. Cleveland took Brad Daugherty, Hot Rod Williams and Ron Harper in the first round that year. Price was considered a high upside/high risk "swing for the fences" that Cleveland could afford because they had 3 stud first rounders. He ended up being better than the 3 chiseled Greek gods taken in the 1st. That was the first draft I ever got super-nerdy about, when I was like 14 or 15-ish.
I bet most of those comps do not come true and what you want from the rookie in his first season.... Don't miss your defensive rotations and make decent reads. Make your shots when open. (Also get yourself open and run off ball) Rebound, rebound, rebound. Move and swing the ball around and make the extra pass. Get ready whenever to come off the pine and provide hustle n great energy level. Udoka does not add new wrinkles to the Offense unless the player does the dirty work first and well enough.
I'm pretty high on Amen's ability to playmake, and I think when he actually got to play PG and had the confidence to do so, he did well. He had 10+ assists games in the NBA and G League for example. Yes not ideal competition (the NBA game was the last one IIRC, so borderline G League I guess), but I think the point is he's able to be an effective playmaker when assigned that role (especially if he's not concerned about his handle). He's basically a walking paint touch, and I think he has the vision, processing, size, etc. to do well in that role if he meets his potential. I do think he needs to get much better at shooting (not necessarily just 3pt), and maybe that does limit him overall. But the assumption was that he would improve on that, so I went with that. I actually don't love Amen if he's just an off ball player, though maybe he's just good enough to make it work. I get the Aaron Gordon comparisons, and maybe that will have to be his role. But I think to fully unlock and maximize his talents, he'll need to get a lot of on-ball reps (i.e., not just standing in the dunker spot). Also, you can have him playmake *with* someone like Reed (or Jalen) in the game while they playmake too! I have to say this repeatedly, but I think people get bogged down by positions too much. All 3 could be in at the same time, and I'm not sure if any one has to be the designated PG per se (plus you have Sengun likely playmaking/creating too). FWIW I don't really see Cam being able to be a high level playmaker....though he can definitely be a high level play finisher (and maybe that involves just giving him the ball and letting him do his thing from time to time).
Reed Shepard is a special player. I watched 5 games he played against SEC opponents and he can get his own shots if he wanted. He is a team first guy, who moves the ball to get the BEST SHOT and not a good shot. His height is a issue but his leaping ability shows up when he is blocking shots, rebounding and driving to the basket. Having Sengun as our “offense hub” and passing to the open man…Reed shoots 3 pointers like it’s a layup. Reed has to play shooting guard because we already have Amen as our future starting point guard….anyway I LOVE Reed but I feel the Rockets are going to pick Clingan….it’s hard to find 7’3 and 283 pounds guy who can limit team’s offense schemes.
People act like Sheppard at 6-3 is an issue when we have 6-0 FVV out there with 190 lb Jalen Green at the 2. Green at the draft weighed in at 186 and Sheppard weighs 182.
