{"id":118399,"date":"2025-01-16T12:35:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T17:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=118399"},"modified":"2025-01-16T12:35:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T17:35:48","slug":"time-for-the-rockets-to-reverse-their-reed-sheppard-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/16\/time-for-the-rockets-to-reverse-their-reed-sheppard-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Time For The Rockets To Reverse Their Reed Sheppard Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

Houston Rockets<\/a> rookie Reed Sheppard<\/a> entered the 2024-25 season with high expectations. Selected third overall in the 2024 NBA Draft<\/a> after a stellar freshman<\/a> year at Kentucky, Sheppard was touted as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. However, through 39 games, he has struggled to secure playing time, logging<\/a> just 355 minutes and averaging a mere 3.2 points per game on 31.4% shooting from the field. Despite these challenges, Sheppard showcased his talent during a recent G League assignment, offering a glimpse of his potential.<\/p>\n

Time For The Rockets To Reverse Their Reed Sheppard Decision<\/h2>\n

Early NBA Struggles<\/h3>\n

Sheppard started the season averaging just under 12 minutes per game but gradually fell out of the Rockets’ rotation. In his limited appearances, he struggled with his shooting and aggression, issues that also affected him during Kentucky\u2019s NCAA Tournament loss<\/a>. His offensive passivity became a concern for head coach Ime Udoka, who noted Sheppard\u2019s hesitation to take shots and difficulty adapting to the NBA’s physicality.<\/p>\n

The Rockets\u2019 commitment to winning has further limited Sheppard\u2019s opportunities. With veterans like Fred VanVleet<\/a> and Dillon Brooks<\/a> leading the team to the Western Conference\u2019s second-best record (27-12), Udoka has relied heavily on experienced players. Even promising young talents like Cam Whitmore<\/a> have found minutes hard to come by under Udoka\u2019s veteran-first approach.<\/p>\n

G League Success<\/h3>\n

Seeking development opportunities for Sheppard, the Rockets assigned him to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on January 6. Sheppard immediately thrived, earning G League Player of the Week honors after averaging<\/a> 30.7 points, 8.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 steals in three games. In his debut, Sheppard scored 49<\/a> points\u2014the third-highest single-game total in Vipers history\u2014and shot 46.3% from the field and 40.5% from three-point range during the stint.<\/p>\n

Sheppard credited<\/a> the assignment for boosting his confidence. \u201cI think I learned a lot,\u201d Sheppard said. \u201cPlaying free and loose helped me enjoy basketball again.\u201d The extended playing time allowed him to regain his rhythm and showcase his ability to lead an offense, both as a scorer and a facilitator.<\/p>\n

Rockets\u2019 Support and Potential Opportunities<\/h3>\n

Sheppard\u2019s G League performance didn\u2019t go unnoticed by his Rockets teammates. Brooks highlighted the 49-point outing, saying<\/a>, \u201cHe showed he doesn\u2019t belong in the G League.\u201d The support from teammates further bolstered Sheppard\u2019s confidence and fueled his desire to contribute at the NBA level.<\/p>\n

Udoka praised Sheppard\u2019s assertiveness during the G League stint, emphasizing his improved shot selection and leadership. \u201cAggressiveness and confidence stood out,\u201d Udoka said<\/a>. \u201cHe needed those reps to hunt his shots and take on defensive challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Rockets facing a grueling stretch of four<\/a> games in six days, Sheppard could see more NBA minutes, particularly against weaker opponents like the Trail Blazers. Udoka has not ruled out additional G League assignments for Sheppard, emphasizing the importance of consistent playing time for his development.<\/p>\n

Path Forward For Reed Sheppard On the Rockets<\/h3>\n

Sheppard\u2019s biggest adjustment remains adapting to the NBA\u2019s physicality. At 6-foot-3, he has struggled defensively against bigger opponents, a challenge compounded by the Rockets\u2019 switching-heavy defensive scheme. Nevertheless, his G League success demonstrated his potential as a dynamic scorer and playmaker.<\/p>\n

While Sheppard may not crack the Rockets\u2019 rotation immediately, his recent performances suggest he has the tools to succeed. For now, his development depends on balancing limited NBA opportunities with valuable G League assignments. As Sheppard put<\/a> it, \u201cThe NBA is different, but I feel better mentally and physically after the G League. I\u2019m ready to keep learning and growing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Houston Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard entered the 2024-25 season with high expectations. Selected third overall in the 2024 NBA Draft after a stellar freshman year at Kentucky, Sheppard was touted as a potential Rookie of the Year candidate. However, through 39 games, he has struggled to secure playing time, logging just 355 minutes and averaging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":118421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,31],"tags":[49234,49040,49979,4794,772,1244,3821,776,1332,2985,49134],"class_list":["post-118399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-rockets","tag-2023-24-nba","tag-2024-nba-draft","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-cam-whitmore","tag-dillon-brooks","tag-fred-vanvleet","tag-ime-udoka","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-nba-g-league","tag-ncaa-championship","tag-reed-sheppard"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118423,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118399\/revisions\/118423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}