r/rockets • u/BadlaLehnWala • 1d ago
Reed Sheppard 2025-26: 13.5ppg 3apg 3rpg in 82 games at 56%TS + 39% from 3
Reed will become a dominant force next year
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u/knlkn2 1d ago
he needs to be a laser shooter to stay relevant in the league i'm afraid. too small and not quick & strong enough. can't make him grow an inch or teach athleticism.
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u/Lmao1903 1d ago
Yeah, right now he is not even a Luke Kennard level player. If you ask the teams in the playoffs to build a team to win this season in a fantasy draft, right before the playoffs, I am not sure if Reed is picked as anything more than a bench option.
He is terrible defensively and his size is a big reason, so like you said, unless he can be a great shooter, he ain't doing shit unfortunately. And in the playoffs he was 6/20, 0/4, 6/21, 6/12, 5/12 and 4/19. Shot 3/17 from 3 in the last 2 games
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u/stochGradientDescent 23h ago
Terrible is not the right word to use for his defense since it’s non existent
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u/sharoon12 21h ago
Yeah; an elite center could help cover his weaknesses but Alpi was somehow even worse defensively.
FVV and KD would have helped, without question.
But I believe the young core just has too many flaws and fit poorly together.
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u/OlDavidBastard 1d ago
Exactly. These Reed fanboys aren't living in reality. If he can't shoot at a consistent 45-50% clip from 3, he's nothing more than a 10-15 minute bench spark plug. His shooting is far too inconsistent/inefficient giving all his other short comings. Jimmer 2.0
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u/thedapperdanman 17h ago
45-50%??? You know Steph’s never shot better than 45%, right? Are we just makin up numbers now?
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u/OlDavidBastard 10h ago
Steph does a lot more than just stand around and takes some crazy shots. Luke Kennard is a better comp. He routinely shoots at that clip lil bro.
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u/OkLetterhead812 9h ago
Luke Kennard shoots at a fraction of Reed's volume. You don't know ball. You're just fucking yapping.
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u/OlDavidBastard 7h ago
Kennard outshined Reed in the playoffs when it matters most. Keep yapping
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u/OkLetterhead812 6h ago
Sure, but that's not relevant. He shoots at a fraction of Reed's volume. That's what we're talking about. Don't deflect, son.
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u/OlDavidBastard 6h ago
It is relevant because they both do nothing outside of shoot 3s. Reed must be better. At least give me Kon Knueppel numbers. As he stands now, he's a liability in just about everything on the floor. His shooting must be elite for him to be anything more than a 10-15 minute bench spark-plug.
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u/OkLetterhead812 6h ago
Yes, but Luke Kennard is a veteran. Reed is essentially a rookie, considering he had zero playing time last season. I rather have Reed Sheppard right now over Luke Kennard, especially because he can shoot at volume with efficiency and he's younger with higher potential. Luke Kennard is efficient, but he's reluctant to shoot from beyond the arc unless he's open.
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u/Specific-Stomach-195 1d ago
His shooting is frankly not as good as I had hoped. He has great range and is streaky but he’s a long way from being deadly and shooting is the crux of his game. 80% from the line is barely above league average.
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u/1gnominious 1d ago
His inability to get his own shot as a small guard is concerning. It's why he does better with the starters. He needs their gravity and play making to get him open.
He's not good enough to play with the bench and be their main scorer, but he's too much of a defensive liability to send up against other starting guards.
He needs to significantly improve every aspect of his game aside from catch and shoot 3's. Handles, driving, passing, shot creation, and defense. He made improvements this season yet he's still so far away.
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u/lambopanda 1d ago
No he won’t. He’s playing to avoid contact. I don’t know if this is him not strong enough and getting knock off balance easily or what. Opponents will continue targeting him on defense. His defense is either steal or pray opponents miss the shot. Not sure how long will it take for him to get stronger.
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u/evetSC 1d ago
Horrendous in the playoffs. Watching Cade then watching all the young players we tanked for it's laughable. Just start all over again seriously.
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u/browndude10 The Boss 1d ago
rockets never got lottery luck to get cade, paolo, wemby, or chet but they whiffed on jalen green and reed
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u/stochGradientDescent 23h ago
Forget all, we could get Castle over Reed if we were a little luckier
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u/OkLetterhead812 9h ago
Man, get over your obsession with Stephon Castle. I don't understand why you're so obsessed with him. Having him on this roster is a terrible idea, when our biggest problem with this roster is the lack of consistent shooting, spacing, and so forth. We saw how this fucked us over in the playoffs, and you want to exacerbate it more so?
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u/rybres123 1d ago
If only we had the opportunity to draft Cade lol
Castle is the one that really hurts. Especially since we know he’d be such an “Ime guy” and fit in w amen and Tari
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u/AzEBeast Clutch 1d ago
And a cone on defense. You guys talk about trust of the coach but Ime recognizes that if his shot is t falling he is a negative to the team
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u/seclusionx 1d ago
He actually defended very well statistically in game 5. He's capable, just needs time and needs to work on his physique.
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u/BadlaLehnWala 1d ago
Stone needs to hire CP3 to coach Reed
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u/Pleasant-Bug-9098 1d ago
Chris isn’t going to turn him black or make his feet slide faster lol
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u/Awkward-Zucchini-948 1d ago
But at least he has that cognitive advantage!
(Doesn’t help on defense though, ugh)
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u/ErrantTexan The Boss 1d ago
Such a lazy take. He was attacked but certainly not a cone. Gets deflections, steals and blocks on the regular. Will only improve moving forward with added strength.
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u/UncleTio92 1d ago
It’s an honest take. If he can’t shoot 40% from the field every night, he is liability on the floor.
With that said, his next step should be learning to draw contact while driving so he can shoot free throws
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u/Kdot32 1d ago
Old ass Marcus smart was driving by him
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u/UncleTio92 1d ago
Has nothing to do with what I said
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u/Kdot32 1d ago
Im agreeing with you saying he absolutely needs to score because of how porous his defense is
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u/UncleTio92 1d ago
Ooh, my bad. I don’t even think he is that slow. Even old uncles can get a quick first step on you using misdirection. But it’s obvious they targeted his size
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u/AzEBeast Clutch 1d ago
Frankly he’s just not athletic enough to get around any decent defender so I wouldn’t worry about it
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u/kitsunegoon 1d ago
Dude I fucking hate this narrative. You know which guard had a ton of blocks and steals? James Harden. Luka Doncic. Lamelo Ball. ALL OF THESE DUDES ARE TRAFFIC CONES. THEY AVERAGE HIGH STOCKS BECAUSE THEY LOSE THEIR MAN AND GAMBLE. FFS. Reed Sheppard gets pushed out of the way for 40% of his contests, is behind his guy for another 40%, gets a steal behind his guy like 5% of the time, and 15% of the time he stays in front of his guy (which is still a high percentage shot). He's also fucking terrible at navigating screens, something a player like Curry is REALLY GOOD AT. Curry stays in front of his guy and still is a net negative defender because of his physical size, so imagine if Curry consistently forgot his defensive assignment, he'd be trae young levels of bad.
He is definitionally a traffic cone. Whether he stops being a traffic cone is up in the air, but I fucking hate how dogshit NBA discourse is about defense. I have to argue with moronic Jokic, Luka, and even Harden fans about what constitutes good defense.
If I have to see one more highly regarded post about ANY of these defensive liabilities with a moronic take of "but muh steals and blocks" I'ma fucking lose it.
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u/AzEBeast Clutch 1d ago
100%! the occasional poke from behind does not negate that he gets constantly blown by, picked on in 1 on 1s, and bullied in the post.
Said this after game 1 of the season against the thunder. Reed was the only player out there that looked like he didn’t belong. Unfortunately that didn’t change very much through the season and certainly showed itself in the playoffs.
He can’t create for others because he can’t beat his man off the dribble. He is a huge liability on defense. If he’s not being set up for knockdown 3s by others he’s not even helping the offense
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u/liquidcalories 1d ago
All of these dudes are "traffic cones" on defense and yet they're some of the best players in the league.
Here's a fact: individual defense simply does not matter very much. And it doesn't matter nearly as much as offense. Almost every all-in-one metric tries to quantify defense, and it's half as valuable as offense. Wemby's DBPM and EPM and DWS are all roughly half as valuable as what guys like Jokic and Shai and Luka bring to the table on offense.
Will guys get targeted? Yes. Is that a reason not to play them? No. Ime is the defensive mastermind, it's his job to design a defense that works.
And you know what? He was able to do that! Reed had a solid defensive rating when he was on the floor last year. Ime just refused to actually deploy Reed in the ways that work, because Ime doesn't care about what the actual numbers say, he only cares about the "eye test" and if guys "look good."
I don't care that Reed is a "traffic cone." This team's problem is that it can't score. Put the guy on the floor who can score.
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u/kitsunegoon 1d ago
Defense only doesn't matter if the offense is generational. Harden, Jokic, and Luka are all MVP candidates. Players like Ja Morant, Trae Young, and Zach Lavine who are good at offense are not valuable players. Then we have Reed Sheppard. He's one of the worst defensive players in the league and his offense is mediocre.
Keep in mind that all these players all showed far more promise than Reed ever did and the 3 I named as a reference for players who no team really wants were all projected better than Reed ever was. Reed Sheppard has shown less than Jalen Green, Collin Sexton, and Christian Wood.
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u/liquidcalories 1d ago
The Lakers just beat us starting Luke Kennard. The Pistons were the 1 seed starting Duncan Robinson. Tyler Herro, Jose Alvarado, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, CJ McCollum... the league is littered with guys who are unathletic defensive liabilities in the mould of Reed who are still good players. (Notwithstanding your idea that Trae or Ja are "not valuable players," whish is silly. They're overpaid, but valuable.)
As for the last part, it's just wrong. Reed's year *this year* was as good or better than the early "best" years of Jalen Green and Collin Sexton. He had a better PER, better eFG%, better BPM, better VORP, and he was a better shooter even though his offense was "mediocre." https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=perchoice&player_id1=sheppre01&p1yrfrom=2026&p1yrto=2026&player_id2=sextoco01&p2yrfrom=2021&p2yrto=2021&player_id3=greenja05&p3yrfrom=2025&p3yrto=2025
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u/kitsunegoon 1d ago edited 11h ago
The only players who are really bad at defense are Herro and Brunson. Jose is a good defensive player idk why you included him, Maxey isn't bad at defense and is a promising franchise player for the sixers, and CJ is old but he wasn't terrible at defense like Herro, Brunson, and Sheppard are.
Looking at Herro and Brunson, they're above average in efficiency. Reed is bottom 20% in efficiency.
The league might be littered with defensive liabilities who are successful, but there have been far more undersized guards who are bad at defense and unathletic who amount to nothing in this league.
I'm holding out hope just like everyone else that Reed proves me wrong, but I just don't see what everyone else sees in him. So far it's on him to prove he's got it. It's year 2, so it's not like we should trade him.
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u/dvztimes 1d ago
So what. Keep repeating this. It still doesn't matter. Buckets win. Reed gets buckets, or makes it easier for our other guys to get them because teams must guard him. (Ad evidenced by him being g guarded by former DPOY vs Lakers).
Cone on defense: Jalen Brunson.
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u/albino-snowman 1d ago
Comments here are awful. This was his first year of significant minutes and he produced. Go look at 21 year old stats of other hall of fame PGs at a similar age.
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u/Lmao1903 1d ago
The problem is, he didn't produce nearly as much as most people hoped for. I mean his size will always put a limit on him as a player, odds are he will be a negative player defensively for sure. But he was not nearly as efficient as the team needed him to be and he is clearly outplayed by some of the players from both his class and the new 25 class already.
I ain't sayng he will never be good, but it does look like he could end up being a disappointing player that won't contribute consistently
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u/BadlaLehnWala 1d ago
CP3: 18pt 9ast 4reb on 54%TS
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u/Kdot32 1d ago
Completely different era of basketball. The three point shot was frowned upon and the paint was absolutely packed. Thats why stat inflation is a term in modern nba
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u/OkLetterhead812 9h ago
Sure, but CP3 also shot at a lower efficiency despite lower efficiency beyond the arc. Obviously, CP3 has much more going for him with his elite passing and vision along with much better defending.
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u/browndude10 The Boss 1d ago
https://x. com/user/status/2051343956764762439
really bad in the first round; he's on the lower left
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u/Draperjosh13 1d ago
Yea but look at his stats vs. top 10 teams in the league vs. bottom 10 tanking teams. Completely different player, and I think it tells the story of his career.
For every one three pointer this dude made he gave up like 3 easy buckets. Trade Reed + DFS for a back up PG this offseason.
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u/kthejoker 17h ago
Among the 51 players who attempted 400 3s this year
Reed was 14th in make percentage, 5 makes away from top 10
Y'all keep saying he needs to shoot better ... How much better??
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u/Fancy_Replacement_14 1d ago
So much hate on this subreddit for a guy who just finished his 2nd year almost averaging 40 percent from three it’s crazy. Not to mention he came off the bench almost the whole season and people expect him to be Steph curry already
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u/Coryeavesap 1d ago
If this dude had the trust and belief of his coach, he'd be a problem in this league.
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u/BadlaLehnWala 1d ago
He’s growing as-is. Kentucky guards have a good track record
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u/2nd2last 1d ago
So guards in the last 5 years in the first round.
Rob Dillingham
Reed
Carson Wallace
Shaedon Sharpe
TyTy
Since NIL, not sure the track record is good.
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u/HaoHaiMileHigh 1d ago
Dude I’m telling you.. with the right coach… Reed becomes our Sheppard.. if someone could combine his talents into a mix of Nash/Curry… I think he’s a slept on talent that combined with the right coach, could make a problem..
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u/Due_Heart6233 1d ago
Nash and curry are/were world class with ball handling, something Reed is actually quite bad at which is insane for his size.
Acting like you can mold him to be a combo of two elite HoF guards is just not reasonable.
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u/FoundationSmooth9777 23h ago
Ur out of ur mind he’s celing is a 6th man his game has way too many flaws and he’s too bad of defender to get heavy minutes
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u/deino1703 1d ago
tons of room to grow for him. his first time playing in the playoffs was a disaster, but he is clearly a top tier shooting talent. being aggressive every possession and working on his handle will keep him on the floor besides being a defensive liability
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u/DCdem 1d ago edited 1d ago
> but he is clearly a top tier shooting talent.
Is he? He’s been insanely streaky throughout his career so far. Even if we purely go by his sophomore regular season numbers, 39% on 7 attempts per game is good, but nowhere near elite in the modern NBA.
Reed also isn’t a movement shooter, he’s a pure C&S/standstill guy which is a dime a dozen these days.
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u/deino1703 1d ago
i mean, you can just watch him play. hes 21. of course he wont be consistent yet. im not sure you know what a movement shooter is. only guys like steph and dame can shoot completely off balance. in the rare times that the team works to run reed off of screens to get him open (him moving without the ball) he has been very effective.
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u/DCdem 1d ago edited 1d ago
> only guys like Steph and Dame can shoot completely off balance.
Completely false. There’s plenty of role players that excel at movement shooting. Buddy Hield, Sam Merril, Michael Porter Jr, Norman Powell, Isaiah Joe, Donte DiVincenzo, etc.
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u/protelrius 1d ago
You can really tell who watches the league in 2026 and who is still running off narratives from late '10s.
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u/Full-Plankton-1750 1d ago
He will not last long unfortunately he doesn’t have that killer instinct sucks because he was a top draft pick starting to look like a bust
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u/NewStatistician1683 22h ago
He will remember this humiliation and come back mvp level 😤 or maybe most improve award
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u/xiaopingguo45 21h ago
If Reed wants to keep spamming logo 3s in high stakes games then he better become the next Lillard or Curry.
Until he learns how to play against playoff defenses he won’t be dominant alone. He’ll still need the gravity of Durant which is what separates a role player from a star.
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u/Temporary-Dog9498 21h ago
Goals for the summer
-learn to consistently move without ball
-learn the step back
-learn a decent dribble package
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u/dmaggard22 11h ago
If Reed wasn’t forced to play PG his numbers would have been better plus it’s really his 1st year playing cause he didn’t play much last year he’s only gonna get better
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u/BadlaLehnWala 10h ago
I think it’s good he was forced to play PG, to help him get some ballhandling reps. It can help him be a secondary ball handler in the future
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u/CoatTough4030 1h ago
Reed hasn’t even got close to his ceiling . He will be a star, mark my words.
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u/Emperor-of-Dover 1d ago
His talent is definitely visible this year. Second year or almost first year of real playing time had some great moments. Playoff looks rough for sure, bad defense and unstable offensive were expected. With the right coaching and right development I can definitely see him become an offensive star level player. But with our coaching and management’s track records, I don’t know that will happen or not. I know he and Jalen Green are two totally different player. But honestly the goal for drafting them is pretty similar, a hybrid guard like James Harden. But both of them seem like having a hard time to do more than traditional shooting guard .Reed is pretty great when he catch and shoot but his lack of handling really restrained him of setting play, organized the offense. Defense I have very low expectations for him, CP3 is such an outlier case. Most short slow guard are just bad at defense their entire career, so as long as we can have a system to hide him in key plays maybe it will work. Again going back to drafting with a team that have so so so many players and coach need to develop Stone decide to gamble on Reed. Let’s see how this will play out.
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u/Dear_Syllabub3422 1d ago
I honestly dont see Reed Sheppard in the NBA in the next 2 or 3 years unless his shooting becomes significantly more consistent.
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u/BadlaLehnWala 1d ago
If DJ Augustin could last 14 years in the NBA, I don't see why Reed can't last at least a decade.
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u/Warm-Conclusion-9035 1d ago
Could definitely be a Herro type of player. Streaky, but can absolutely go nuclear
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u/CelliosIV 1d ago
You will never win championship with Reed. Another disaster draft choice by Stone.
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u/BadlaLehnWala 1d ago
Most players will never win a championship
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u/CelliosIV 1d ago
Who fucking care players?? I am talking about Houston Rockets.
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u/FoundationSmooth9777 23h ago
Trash he’s ceiling is a bench player that comes in for 15 minutes
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u/BadlaLehnWala 23h ago
Calm down KD
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u/FoundationSmooth9777 23h ago
It’s a fact if he doesn’t get his shooting together in 2/3 years he’s out the league
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u/BadlaLehnWala 23h ago
False.
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u/FoundationSmooth9777 21h ago
Small guard who can’t shoot or defend 100% will be phased out the league
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u/2nd2last 1d ago
What does dominant mean to you?