Houston Rockets Will Need Leap from Reed Sheppard

For the first time since James Harden graced the roster with MVP play, the Houston Rockets are contenders in the Western Conference.

With Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, the budding Amen Thompson and potentially the deepest depth chart in the league, Houston now joins the Thunder, Nuggets and even Clippers with the potential to claim the West crown.

Still, the Rockets will need a few things to fall their way to achieve their lofty goals, starting with a leap from second-year guard Reed Sheppard.

Drafted at No. 3 in the 2024 NBA Draft, Sheppard was a high-feel guard set to impact the game on both ends, using blistering 3-point shooting, play-making and better-than-expected defense to contribute to winning basketball. Despite his positives, he managed just 12.6 minutes per game across 52 contests last season, scoring just 4.4 points on 35% shooting overall. Suffice it to say, he struggled to assimilate to the big leagues, as most frosh guard prospects do.

Now, the Rockets are reportedly gearing up to offer Sheppard more opportunity in the hope he blossoms into a legitimate contributor. In the least he'll need his 3-point shooting to stay in the rotation, but could be much more than just a sharpshooter if things pan out.

Sheppard’s becoming a legitimate backup point guard would do wonders for the team’s configuration. Longtime guard Fred VanVleet will continue to hold the team’s lead-guard reigns, and while Thompson has legitimate play-making in his bag, he’ll likely be best served as the team’s wing defender with Dillon Brooks now a Phoenix Sun.

While Thompson is certain to initiate plenty of offense with VanVleet on the bench, Sheppard being able to do so — and allowing Thompson to wreak havoc in the starting lineup on defense — could blow the doors wide open for Houston.

But taking a leap will be a tall task for Sheppard. As previously mentioned, guard is one of the tougher positions to play in the NBA, and going from low-usage rookie to positive impact sophomore is easier said than done.

Still, Houston's system is primed for Sheppard to join the core. And the team's success this year could be somewhat dependant on just how well he does.