Just finished watching the video of the Heat game. Incredible. A great offensive game from Reed, and the stat line shows it. Also some nice steals. He's becoming adept at that shoulder turn where he pokes the ball away backhanded. As a stopper, he has his ups and downs. A goat at 5:00 of the 4th, then a stud at 4:00. But the most telling frame is at 3:15. The best spacing I've seen all year. The key is 3 shooters around the arc. Then Sengun has the whole frontcourt to work with. And Amen as a non-shooter can play with that group.
I think having a couple defensive lapses a game can cause people to overstate a player's defensive deficiencies. Luka is a prime example of this - if you look at most metrics, he's actually not a bad defender. However, there are at least a couple times a game that he seemingly gets blown by on defense, and if you string together clips of when this happens, he looks like the worst defender in history. The same is true of Sheppard - yes, there were a couple instances of him getting dominated on defense, but that doesn't mean, overall, he had a bad defensive game. Also, stocks go a long way in making up for defensive limitations. The current steals leader in the NBA is averaging 2 steals a game. In games he's started this season, Sheppard is averaging 2.3 steals.
Some games he plays good defense with a few slip ups. Other games he is targeted relentlessly and plays miserable on that side of the court. The right answer is he is getting progressively better at defense with a lot of the ups and downs of a young player in the NBA. He does have a defensive ceiling of “average” in my opinion, because of his physical limitations. Average will be fine if he is a 40% 3 point shooter.
I agree, although I don’t think it is a one year correction period. Part of his improvement will have to come from adding muscle which will take several years as it has for Jabari. He is a smart player so I think he will continue to get better over the next several seasons if given the minutes. There is a distinct possibility that he will be relegated to spot duty again next year when Ime’s love affair is re-kindled.
Once Reed gets consistent, I can easily see him being a 20+ point, 10+ assist, with good stocks for a guard, while knocking down 40+% from three. I am worried getting FVV back will set Reed back next season if Ime is still Ime.
Reed Sheppard is going to be fine defensively. He is on the shorter side and he isn't long - and that, along with pedestrian foot speed will keep him from ever being a top tier defender. However, he has exceptional (special) hands and hand quickness that bails him out often when his man gets around him. He also has excellent hangtime and vertical extension that gives him time to adjust in the air and still alter the shooters shot. He also is excellent at switching over and getting steals, and a high percentage of his steals lead to easy buckets for the Rockets. He is getting better already at anticipation and coming around screens and has improved his angle. Based on his body type, I expect his lower body to get stronger and that will help some as well. Long term my only real concern with him is that he must play with high effort defensively and there are a handful of match ups that I am concerned about him in isolation. However, as is often the case with high effort guards, they are fine as long as the post defense is strong and the other players on the defensive side are somewhat talented and communicate. FWIW the defensive advanced numbers back this up as well.
Stone needs to figure out how to pry Kel'el Ware away from Miami this offseason .... That dude is a defensive backstop that can cover for Reed and can shoot from downtown so Amen can camp in the paint. Sengun is a bad pairing with both Amen and Reed .... can't have 2 non shooters, can't have a bad defender at the 5 if Reed is going to struggle.
Agreed. The key to unlocking this team, in the present and future, is to get a legit rim protector who can switch a little on the perimeter and is a decent paint finisher. Bonus if they have a little range. Did the 90’s Rockets care about the guards getting blown by? No, it was a strategy to funnel them into Dream.
