Rockets Have One Blemish on Fantastic Season

Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard was taken with the No. 3 overall pick in this year's NBA Draft, and normally that would mean a decent amount of playing time for one of the league's top prospects.

Instead, Sheppard spent most of his first year in the league buried in the depth chart for the Rockets, struggling to get much action in Ime Udoka's rotation.

That's why Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes gave the Rockets a "C-" in his report card grade for each team's rookie class.

"Give Reed Sheppard some actual playing time, and he'll do something with it. Case in point: Sheppard racked up 25 points, five assists, two steals and a block against the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on March 3. That was the only game this year in which he played at least 28 minutes," Hughes writes.

"His second-highest scoring total on the season came on Feb. 4, when he put up 16 points in 27 minutes.

"The No. 3 overall pick averaged 30.7 points and 8.3 assists in the three G League games he logged, providing more evidence that this season's underwhelming numbers have more to do with a lack of opportunity than a lack of skill.

"Nobody should be giving up on Sheppard yet, but there's really no way to frame his production positively—particularly considering where he was selected. A scoring average of 4.0 points on 45.6 percent true shooting just isn't good enough."

Sheppard will hope to get more of an opportunity with the Rockets next season.