If you loved the summer league version by Reed Sheppard, you might want to check out the Rio Grande Valley Vipers this week. On Mondaythe Houston Rockets assigned Sheppard, the No. 3 pick in 2024 NBA draftto their G League affiliate. The Vipers host the Oklahoma City Blue on Tuesday and Thursday, and the Iowa Wolves on Saturday. During that stretch, the Rockets will visit Washington, Memphis and Atlanta.
This is Sheppard’s first G League assignment. In a way, it’s surprising that he spends time with the Vipers at all. After one of the best shooting seasons in NCAA history, he was expected to be an offensive player ready for the NBA, and he backed that up by being perhaps the most impressive player in Las Vegas last July.
But given the situation he’s in and how his rookie season went, this probably wasn’t a difficult decision. On December 27 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sheppard came on the floor for four minutes at the start of the second quarter. In Houston’s four games since then, he has played a total of just five minutes, all in bad time against the Boston Celtics last Friday. If taking a road trip would have meant more DNP CDs, then a real run with RGV would probably be a better use of his time.
If Sheppard were in a situation more typical of a top-three rookie, it’s possible he could make a strong case for Rookie of the Year. However, the Rockets are second in the West at 23-12, and their success is largely due to their defense, which ranks third in the league. It was always going to be difficult for the 20-year-old Sheppard, listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, to steal minutes from Fred VanVleet or Jalen Green, and he’s not an ideal fit defensively next to either of them. especially in coach Ime Udoka’s switch-heavy schedule.
Sheppard can make dashing defensive plays without the ball, but at this stage of his career he is struggling to hold his own one-on-one. I wouldn’t read much into his 27.9% shooting from three-point range given that his playing time has been limited and inconsistent, but it’s worth noting that Houston has primarily used him off the ball on offense. Sheppard’s gravity is useful, but if he’s only going to have a 15.7% usage rate, it’s harder to argue that he should play over Aaron Holiday.
Personally, I’d like to see more of Sheppard next to Amen Thompson in the backcourt, with length and shooting around them. However, those two have only played 151 non-garbage minutes together without another guard, according to Cleaning The Glass. Understandably, Sheppard’s ball development isn’t Udoka’s top priority when building the rotation. That’s why it makes sense to have him cooking in the G League.
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