Reed Sheppard
- Thread starter MbergCat
- Start date
Sounds like he may need a 10-15 game rehab run back in college. He still has eligibility.
Reed is starting to shine. Happy for him.
I’m glad for him also. Is it bad to be happy for a razorback? Only kidding.
Reed is awesome. He’s gonna be a player for a long time with his shooting. He’s way better in the mid range and more athletic than most give him credit for.
Sheppard would have been a Mashburn-level legend here if he had stayed three years. Can you imagine?
Yeah but he would have never been revered by Gen Z the way Mash is by Gen X.
I'm sure his peer group still check out his NBA highlights.
I actually think Macy is a better comparison.
Macy was an absolute god to all the late boomers/Gen Xer's growing up in Kentucky in the 70s.
Kids now are too overstimulated to obsess over Reed Shepard no matter how long he stayed
I am absolutely ill that i dropped him in fantasy, while holding him for nearly 3 months, and now my rival has him and hes going OFF. Hes probably in the running for MIP in both fantasy and real life.
He was also 3 blocks away from have a 5x5 game.
He was also 3 blocks away from have a 5x5 game.
I’m not a NBA fan, but it’s hard to not notice the huge improvement between his rookie season in Houston and this year. Reed Sheppard has made himself into a really solid NBA player. It might be old man Van Vleet who needs to worry about playing time upon his return rather than the other way around…
Im actually a little more worried about Amen. Guy cant shoot. Athlete first, basketball player second. And were also seeing that this 3-4 year G-League experiment did NOT prove to be any better for getting players ready for the NBA, as an alternate path to going to college. Thompson brothers, Kuminga, Jaden Hardy, Jalen Green, Scoot Henderson, Ron Holland, daishen nix, RJ Hampton.. all vastly overrated so far.
I was one of the bigger proponents of what rhe G-League was doing, figuring it was going to fast track guys past the nonsense of going to college for a year, and letting them focus 100% on the NBA.
Boy was I wrong. That 5 year stretch of top15 recruits going to these various leagues over college was nothing short of a disaster. Bust after bust after bust.
Ya just goes to show how much structured college is and the importance of that to a young mind. Kinda like a genius kid going straight from HS to the workforce would usually end up in disaster. At least a year or two in college is needed.
Yeah thats a other side to this.. was there something about these players who really did not want to go to college class for 20 hours week, as in, not put in any additional work? Could it maybe have been part of *who* the G-League was appealing to?
It is interesting just how bad of a success rate these leagues had. Still some time, but its looking like total misses across the board.
I’ll likely sound like get-off-my-lawn guy: Go to college for at least a couple of school years. Struggle, adapt and learn to overcome socially, in the classroom and with hard coaching. The risk of injury is everywhere, and the above-average college players are all getting paid these days. Invest in yourself long term so that you’re better prepared to succeed long term
Did you not watch the playoffs last year? The Thompson brothers can straight up ball. They do a lot of dirty work that goes unnoticed. All others I agree with you. Kuminga can ball as well.
They did pretty well, but you don't draft guys in the top5 of the lottery to be "dirty work" kind of guys. This is why being a basketball player first matters: you can make the argument that Reed Sheppard actually makes the Rockets better when he's running the show, than Amen.. despite all the physical tools Amen has. Now, it's still VERY early for the Thompson brothers, and so far they seem to be pretty decent. But to last in the league you have to be able to shoot to some degree, and those two have work to do. They're effectively 25% from 3 and 65% from the line (aggregate between the two).. thats not gonna cut it for your top guards.
I was saying before that Thompson twins draft, most of the guys predicted to go top 6-10 could not shoot. Doesn't mean they couldn't become better shooters, but if you are using a lottery pick, you want that 1 most important skill to already be somewhat developed. So I thought both of them (along with some others) was a reach to go so early.
Defense matters and both Ausar and Amen are elite perimeter defenders. They are two separate players, so I don't quite understand combining their stats. Being elite on the perimeter defensively is definitely enough for a long career, it's very important, Marcus Smart is in year 12 and there are many other examples. Also, shooting is considered the easiest thing to improve and virtually every player improves his shooting in the NBA.
Here are a couple of recent redrafts:
2023 NBA Re-Draft: Lottery Teams Regret Letting 1 Young Guard Slide
Re-drafting the 2023 NBA Draft to fix Blazers' Scoot Henderson blunder
Neither
Neither Thompson was a reach, who would you have drafted ahead of them? They are critical to both of their teams being really good this season. Also, with Reed on the court, the other guard better be able to play D. People vastly underrate defense.
I will agree there, Amen is a terrific defender and he's only going to get better there.
The stats I combined were just TWO stats that were very easy to understand. Their 3pt shooting and free throw shooting. Both of which are lacking for the two brothers. And I don't think fixing shooting is as easy as you think, otherwise guys like John Wall, MKG, MCW, Lonzo and countless others would have done it. And the ones that do fix it, it takes years to do.
And to make this point again.. I'm not saying these guys suck. Of course their talents will keep them in the league for a good 6-8 years at least. But when you spend a high lottery pick on them, you expect more than one half of "3 and D".
They knew exactly what they were getting and know it will take a few years, you underestimate NBA scouting and the people who do this for a living.
Amen is a player that you can win with.
"While Wembanyama is in a tier of his own, so is Amen Thompson. He's emerged as the clear-cut second-best player in this draft class.
Thompson's two-way impact is undeniable, as his combination of size at 6-foot-7 and elite athleticism makes him a standout in a league full of standout athletes. At 22 years old, he's still figuring out how to put that all together on the offensive end, giving him a star upside. He's already an underrated playmaker, but if Thompson is ever able to add a shot to his arsenal, the league is in trouble.
The Charlotte Hornets' young core is finally looking promising, and they shouldn't regret their original Brandon Miller pick by any means. Still, Amen is somehow a one-of-one talent even though he has a twin brother. That's how special he is."
Who would you have taken ahead of him?
Imagine if we had Reed last year and this year. I think we would have at the very least 5+ more wins on each team.
Is this Thompson Sr I'm speaking to? lol.
All I have to say is that if you think Amen Thompson is on *his own* 2nd tier, and NOT Brandon Miller.. then that's on you. IMO, you're a little too high on Amen, and that's coming from a Houston Rockets fan who would love nothing more than to see Amen be a star. His defense is there, but his offense and play-making are lacking. Could he get there and improve? Absolutely. No one is saying he can't.. but the guy that many though couldn't make it in the NBA (Reed Sheppard) is now leading these Rockets over the last few weeks. He's the better point guard right now.. which in fairness to Amen, maybe he's just not that seeing as how he's 6'7.
But Reed is making this look easy now.. which also sort of tells you the type of talent that's there to help He and Amen: KD, Sengun, Jabari, Tari, etc.
He'd be in the running for POY.. I firmly believe that. He was just starting to gain confidence, which is exactly what's happening in the NBA. All he needed was to get some reps and realize that his talents more than make up for his size. Stupid Cal just wouldn't play him because of the promises he made to guys like Wagner and Edwards.
I wish Pope could have swayed Shep and Dilly back for his first year and maybe his 2nd year. Both would get more playing time for sure.
I didn't say that, it's a quote from the articles I posted, but I do agree with it. But , once again, who would you have drafted ahead of him?
Yes, Reed is playing well offensively, that being said Amen averages 4 more ppg, 2 more assist per game, 5 more rebounds per game than Reed and defensively it's not close he has to pick up Reed's slack and guard the opposing teams best perimeter player. I am one who argued with many that Reed made the right decision to leave and would play well, I'm not surprised that he's playing well offensively. It's going to be interesting to see the extension Amen signs this summer because many are suggesting he's getting the 5-year max or near max.
You think Amen Thompson is on his own tier above Brandon Miller? I don't. Not right now at least.
That draft looks like it's going to be more of a dud. It's Wemby on his own tier, and then a few guys in the lottery. I probably wouldn't take many over Amen, but I don't know if that means much. The fall off from Wemby to Amen, is bigger than Amen to say.. Keyonte George.
I wouldn't really compare Amen to Reed's stats this early. Reed got some early looks at the beginning of the season, then Udoka kept him mostly as a reserve player, and just over the last week or two has he been given more time, in part because Amen and others got banged up. Over the last 10 or so games he's averaging (eyeballing it) 20ppg, 5 assists, 2 TOs, 1.5 steals, 4 rebounds.. with shooting splits of like 50/42/85. And most importantly, hes winning when he's in there, and the team seems to fall apart when hes not.
