{"id":181605,"date":"2026-03-15T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=181605"},"modified":"2026-03-15T00:21:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T04:21:49","slug":"do-rockets-need-to-read-the-room-on-reed-sheppard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/03\/15\/do-rockets-need-to-read-the-room-on-reed-sheppard\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Rockets Need To Read The Room On Reed Sheppard?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rockets emerged victorious from their last outing versus the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night<\/a>. They did so while missing their starting center and (albeit commonly lambasted<\/a>) All-Star, Alperen Sengun<\/a>. Notably, even missing the centerpiece of their offense, the Rockets declined to start sophomore sharpshooter Reed Sheppard<\/a>. Why do the Rockets insist on keeping Sheppard on the shelf?<\/p>\n

Why The Houston Rockets Bring Reed Sheppard Off The Bench<\/h2>\n

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Houston’s win over the Pelicans certainly wasn’t pretty. The team started Dorian Finney-Smith<\/a>, who scored 0 points in over 26 minutes. The Rockets (and Finney-Smith in particular) also wound up benefiting from some questionable officiating down the stretch (though the NBA Last Two Minute<\/a> refereeing report doubled down on the no-calls). Despite the starting “snub”, however, Sheppard played well in the game. He scored 18 points on 5 for 11 shooting from distance.<\/p>\n