HOUSTON — While Reed Sheppard’s maturation continues to jump off the screen, the angst only grows in some circles around the Houston Rockets.
But how could that be?
Isn’t it good for the Rockets that their No. 3 pick from the 2024 NBA Draft is turning into a real player? Doesn’t Sheppard give them production at an obvious position of need? Wouldn’t they want him to start hitting his stride at this point in the calendar?
Like most Rockets topics these days, it’s a bit complicated.
After battling through inconsistency most of the season, Houston has been on the uptick lately, winning seven of its last 10 games, including four of the last five. Sheppard has played a big role in that success.
Over his last 10 games, the second-year guard is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 16.8 points, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 48 percent from the field and 45.8 percent on 3s. He had a historic performance in a 123-118 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds, 10 assists and six steals.
Sheppard joined James Harden and Scottie Pippen as the only players in franchise history to reach those numbers in a single game. It was a clear indication of just how impactful he could be on both ends of the floor when he’s locked in.
“My teammates are giving me the space to grow, and they’re pushing me to be aggressive. That’s made it a lot easier for me,” Sheppard told The Athletic. “It hasn’t always been perfect, but I’m working to fix the mistakes. I know I can play an important role for us to get where we want to go.”
Some of the confusion coming out of that game, however, wasn’t from Sheppard’s performance. Comments made by Rockets head coach Ime Udoka before the game drew a negative reaction from some fans. Sheppard’s recent jump in production has been due partly to an increase in playing time, as Jabari Smith and Amen Thompson have fought through nagging injuries. But Udoka on Monday implied that once Thompson and Smith are healthy, Sheppard would likely go back to the bench.
Thompson rolled his right ankle at the end of Monday’s win, so Sheppard’s time with the starting unit might not be over yet. Still, some are questioning why Sheppard’s recent play hasn’t made it clear that he needs to become a featured part of Houston’s offense rather than just a heat-check player off the bench.
But the concern isn’t about the young guard’s play. It’s that the coaching staff may not allow him to play enough once other options are available.
Considering the growth he’s shown lately and the clear holes in half-court offense that have doomed this team repeatedly, it may not be far-fetched to say Sheppard swings the Rockets’ title hopes more than anyone on the roster not named Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün.
“You live with some (mistakes), but you want to see growth and progress in certain areas,” Udoka said last month when asked about Sheppard’s minutes. “(His) playing time will be based on that.”
The patience extended to young players as they experience growing pains is almost always more generous among fans than it is with coaches. Udoka, in particular, is known for constantly pushing his players to maintain a physical, defense-first mindset. Throughout his three-year tenure in Houston, his message to his young core has been consistent: If you don’t guard, you don’t play.
While Sheppard has experienced some impressive highs during his second NBA season, there have been some ugly moments when defense becomes an issue for the Rockets. While his outside shooting is desperately needed on this team most nights, his issues as an on-ball defender and as a smaller player who teams attack in certain matchups have been a problem.
Udoka, despite some of the outside noise, hasn’t hesitated to sit Sheppard during crucial parts of certain games if he feels like his young point guard isn’t rising to the occasion on defense. Perhaps some of that tough love early in the season has played a role in Sheppard performing at the level he has recently.
Regardless, the playoffs are a little more than six weeks away, and the Rockets must find new ways to keep up with the elite in the Western Conference, because the bully ball that worked so well for them much of the season is no longer an option with Steven Adams out for the rest of the season following ankle surgery.
While Adams only averaged 22.8 minutes per game this year, his absence has exposed some of the weaknesses that have hurt Houston all season. Before Adams was injured on Jan. 18, the Rockets were No. 3 in offensive rating and on pace to be the greatest offensive rebounding team in NBA history. Houston’s once-elite offense is No. 18 in offensive rating since Adams’ injury, and its execution in half-court situations has been downright putrid at times. Life hasn’t been as easy without those extra opportunities, which is putting more pressure on Durant and Şengün to make something out of nothing while attracting multiple defenders.
Having Sheppard on the court not only adds to the spacing around the Rockets’ All-Stars. Sheppard has also developed as an on-ball creator who can get downhill in the pick-and-roll and make plays. To add, he’s a jitterbug who runs around screens and draws attention even when he doesn’t have the ball.
Having that additional scoring option makes play simpler for Durant and Şengün when the offense isn’t so isolation-heavy. Creating something out of nothing has been exhausting for both players at times. Whenever Sheppard heats up with plays off the dribble or splashes 3-pointers from deep, it provides a boost of energy that gives everyone else on the team a pep in their step.
Although Udoka and the Rockets front office left the summer hoping the mental and physical toughness of Adams and Fred VanVleet would be enough to guide this team across the finish line, it’s time to find some different answers. If the Rockets are going to be a below-average offense for the remainder of the season, there’s little chance they make it out of the West against the other teams.
There may be some bumps along the way, but Sheppard being included more consistently in the starting — or closing — lineups at least gives Houston a chance to approach performing at a top-10 level offensively.
And if Sheppard keeps playing like he did against Washington, the sky is the limit.
“When Reed is aggressive, when he’s playing with confidence, we can be a really dangerous team,” Thompson said.
Reed Sheppard (15) has helped Amen Thompson fall more into his natural role as a cutter and a rebounder on offense. (Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images)
A major reason why Sheppard’s presence is so important is that he allows some of the other pieces on the roster to fall into their natural roles. Thompson has been operating as the primary ballhandler with the starting unit most of the season. But when Sheppard is on the floor, it gives Thompson the freedom to maneuver around the dunker spot, where he’s most dangerous as a cutter or an offensive rebounding threat.
Per Cleaning The Glass, the Rockets have a plus-6.1 net rating when Durant, Sheppard and Thompson are on the floor together. It doesn’t hurt to get as much time as possible with the starting backcourt of the future together. Having that youth on the floor together helps to speed up a team that gets way too slow at times. Having them both on the floor also causes some on-ball chaos for opposing guards, because they’re both so good at creating turnovers and getting out in transition.
Playing more pick-and-roll with Sheppard also should allow Şengün to operate in more advantageous spots on the floor rather than attacking defenders one-on-one from the top of the key like he so often has this season. Şengün is shooting below 50 percent from the field since Jan. 1, which isn’t great for a center, but it will improve if Sheppard helps him get more touches closer to the basket. Sheppard and Şengün have been seen putting in extra work after practices in recent weeks to improve their chemistry and to give Sheppard a clear vision of how he can get Şengün the ball in the right spots.
Then, there is Sheppard’s ability to get downhill in pick-and-roll and create open 3-pointers for everyone else. He’s got a great feel for finding shooters in the corners when defenses sink in, and having a person who can create those shots will only help with keeping players like Smith, Tari Eason, Dorian Finney-Smith engaged.
“I’m always telling him, once we know each (other’s tendencies), it’s going to be hard to stop us,” Şengün said after Houston’s win over Sacramento on Feb. 25. “I can open up the game for him a lot. I already know they’re going to double-team me, so I can find him anywhere.”
Since Feb. 1, eight of the top 10 teams in net rating are from the Eastern Conference. While the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder remain the favorites, it feels like the Western Conference is for the taking if the right team gets hot heading into the spring.
The Rockets are showing signs that they can be the team that catches fire at the right point. But it will require the entire team — Udoka included — to operate a little more often outside of their comfort zone. Udoka will have to trust Sheppard to control the team much more than he anticipated coming into the season, and the young point guard will have to get more comfortable doing the dirty work on defense.
In reality, something has to change. The identity of this group has to evolve. And if Sheppard’s evolution is happening before the team’s eyes, why not lean into it?