Reed Sheppard
Three quotes from guys at The Ringer
The Ringer?s Kevin O?Connor had Sheppard as his No. 1 overall player in the draft.
?He?s an incredible shooter and a visionary playmaker who causes chaos on defense,? O?Connor wrote. ?The primary concerns about his game are his size, since he?s only 6-foot-2, and his shot creation, since he?s more of a connector than a primary creator right now. But those worries should be subdued in Houston. The Rockets have loads of lengthy defenders to help protect the rim. And many of those players are also shot creators. Sheppard won?t be relied on to run pick-and-rolls over and over. Instead, he?ll be one of the many players initiating offense in Houston.
On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons and Ryen Russillo both raved about Sheppard?s ability to hit shots from all over the court.
?He makes that little Mark Price one-legged 12-footer in traffic going sideways,? Simmons said. ?He has all of those (shots).?
?If you run Reed Sheppard off a high screen and you?re not there to meet him immediately, it?s over,? Russillo added. ?And I don?t know that there?s been a kid I?ve watched in years where his misses were all awesome, just rattling around soft on the rim. It?s like, 'Oh, I can?t believe that didn?t even go in.' That?s how good of a shooter Reed Sheppard is.?
The Ringer?s Danny Chau gave the Rockets an A for taking Sheppard, writing that the 6-2 guard ?was a statistical darling, shooting the 3 at an absolutely stupid clip while compiling defensive numbers that ought to be impossible for a player with unremarkable size and length. He is the best shooter in the class, equally adept at spot-ups and pulling up in transition. For a team with so much athleticism at its disposal, getting a release valve from deep while also adding another smart playmaker is a no-brainer.?
Kevin Pelton called it the best pick of the night.
?The Rockets had a pretty good sense they would have a shot at Sheppard, but the important thing here was Houston passing on the temptation to trade this pick for a veteran,? Pelton wrote. ?I love how Sheppard, my top-rated prospect, fits with the Rockets' young core by adding badly needed shooting.?
This is interesting. If Reed Sheppard wasn't available, Houston would have traded the pick. Sheppard was the #1 guy on their board.
They considered Sheppard to be the best prospect of his draft class, better than those chosen before him and so much better than the others on the board when the Rockets were on the clock that general manager Rafael Stone said he would have traded the pick if he did not get the player he wanted most.
?I don?t want to put down anybody in this draft,? Stone said. ?I do think it?s a talented draft. I think there are a lot of guys who can and will have really productive NBA careers. But in this case, at the end of our process, we ended up with Reed as the best player in the draft by quite a bit, the best prospect we thought ? and kind of the only guy we were really focused on.
?So if he had not gotten to us, we would have probably? traded down or out of the draft. When we had the opportunity to draft him, we jumped on it.?
Rockets GM continues
Widely considered the best range shooter in the draft, Sheppard fits a Rockets need. But Stone described his choice as more general than fitting a specific skill into any current shortcoming. His analysis of Sheppard went beyond citing Sheppard?s 52.1% 3-point shooting last season or his similarly impressive numbers on every sort of perimeter shot, from open catch-and-shoot 3s to covered step-back attempts.
?He has a special set of skills,? Stone said. ?His shooting ? was historically great. And his feel for the game, his passing, his ability to get deflections. And he?s an NBA (caliber) athlete. He?s not somebody who?s under-athletic.
?The IQ and feel I think is very real. There?s just a lot to like.?
Rather than a pure point guard, Sheppard was a combo guard at Kentucky. In the NBA, he likely will be on the ball more often, though his shooting and his high and quick release would allow him to work with others facilitating offense. But Stone said Sheppard?s ability to see the floor on both ends stood out when he studied video of his play.
?He makes the easy play easy,? Stone said. ?He sees the court really well. His decision-making, his processing is really quick. It?s one of the reasons I think he shoots so well, because the game comes easy to him when he knows whether he is going to shoot early enough to be ready to shoot. His shot preparation is truly astounding.
?Defensively, he baits guys on defense. He picks up cheap steals. He can almost cheat the game a little bit by anticipation. And he?s a really good athlete. He doesn?t have to just rely on his anticipation. He?s able to couple it with some athleticism.?
With Sheppard, they got a player whose strengths fit their needs and roster better than other players available, along with the prospect they believed was best anyway.
?He can really shoot, and he can really pass,? Stone said. ?Players like that fit in every offense. He?s a good fit with Alperen (Şeng?n). He?s a good fit with Amen. He?s a good fit with Fred, with Dillon. But mainly because he?s a talented basketball player, especially on the offensive side of the ball.?
Only 6-2
Sheppard is undersized at just 6-1? with a 6-3? wingspan. He has the shortest hands measured at this season?s combine. But his ability to read situations quickly coupled with outstanding jumping ability that produced the best maximum vertical jump at the combine allows him to play bigger than he is.
I found this part interesting
Sheppard, 20, made 52.1% of his 3s in his lone season with Kentucky, but his superlative shooting shows in ways that go beyond those numbers.
Sheppard has a tight shooting stroke with no wasted motion and a high, quick release. He shoots well in catch-and-shoot, off the dribble and on step-back or side-step 3s.
So not just a spot up shooter. Or even a catch and shoot shooter off of movement. Also a step back jumper.
I saw some numbers on this in a video. Sheppard shot 38/73 (52%) on off the dribble jumpers including 19-37 on off the dribble 3s. He shot 9/15 on floaters (very small sample). And 19-36 on short to midrange jumpers (also quite small).
One thing that was surprising from his numbers was he was below 20% in usage (average mark). So a below average offensive usage despite his high efficiency. Strange for an offensive orientated NBA prospect. Usage undersells passing a bit. So maybe a bit above average but certainly not high.
It is interesting seeing how defenders jumped out on him at the three point line like NBA defenders to Steph. Giving up the lane and allowing easy drives instead of allowing Sheppard to get off a 3. He has nice hesitation moves and change of pace dribbles for getting defenders off balance / getting past defenders.
Those passing numbers are impressive for a SG / combo guard.
