Reed Sheppard is starting to reverse the all-too-early concocted narrative on him as an NBA player. It’s still early in the season (and his NBA career) but we can’t ignore what he’s been doing of late,
and what’s been said about him.
He was written off long ago.
Dating back to his rookie season, we’ve heard about how Reed Sheppard isn’t fully ready to be an every-night player for the Houston Rockets. During his rookie season, he did very little to dispel such dialogue.
He was an indecisive player who also struggled to hit outside shots, which was supposed to be his bread and butter. On the year, Sheppard hit just 33.8 percent of his threes.
Again, that was supposed to be his greatest area of contribution.
Sometimes it takes time, though.
Most of the time, actually. Especially for rookies. This season, however, Sheppard has been turning naysayers into believers. Especially of late.
In Houston’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Friday’s NBA Cup opener, Sheppard played quite stellar, to the tune of 16 points on just 10 shots, yielding a video-game esque 80 percent true shooting and 80 percent effective field goal mark.
And don’t forget the 6 assists (and just one turnover).
Sheppard was the Rockets’ third-leading scorer behind Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant. Not bad for a “bust of a pick”. And he made some sensational plays, like the beautiful bounce-pass dime to Steven Adams in the second half.
In Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sheppard was even better.
Dude threw a halfcourt rope to Tari Eason while on the ground (after forcing a turnover). He also had decisive buckets in the fourth quarter, turning down 3-point shots for wide open mid-range buckets. He then forced another steal and hit a three in transition. All told, Sheppard had 16 points on just 10 shots and went 4-of-6 from three.
Sheppard also had five stocks (yes, you read that right) — four of which were steals and a sensational block.
From a point guard standpoint (since that’s all the talk these days), the Rockets don’t exactly seem comfortable with him there. For example, when Sheppard was on the floor in Sunday’s victory, he seldomly was slotted at the point guard spot.
But he’s been turning doubters into believers, regardless of the role that’s been asked of him. It’s time to put some respect on his name.
In the last three games, Sheppard has averaged 14.7 points, three assists, two steals, 63 percent from the field, and 58.8 percent from long-range.
On the year, Sheppard is now shooting 47.9 percent from deep.
Again, please put some respect on this man’s name expeditiously.
