‘Totally different’… Houston Rockets star is so good compared to other players at Summer League it is ‘laughable’

Reed Sheppard has arrived for the Houston Rockets

In the loss, Sheppard posted an absurd 28 points, four assists, four steals, and three blocks while shooting 40% from both the floor and 3-point range.

While he is still undersized, at only 6-foot-2 for a shooting guard, he managed to draw contact and get into the paint, seemingly with ease.

“Reed Sheppard last night was laughable,” said Sam Vecenie.

“The level to which he’s thinking the game differently than everybody else out here in terms of his passing, in terms of his decision-making, the confidence to go out and make plays, it’s just totally different.”

Last season, his downright fear of drawing contact and getting to the paint prevented Ime Udoka from playing him despite his ball-handling and shooting, which didn’t get many chances to be shown off.

In the Summer League, with less pressure, Sheppard seems to have straightened out any kinks and has successfully demonstrated that he has improved rapidly.

“I thought he was more physical at the point of attack, and, like, being willing to disrupt guys,” Vecenie continued.

“It just felt like he didn’t meet the physical standard that you have to meet to be willing to absorb contact at the point of attack defensively, right? And I think that’s probably why at the end of the day, Ime didn’t feel great about playing him, right?”

If Sheppard has emerged as a shot-maker who can hold his own against larger NBA players, the Rockets will have no choice but to play him, and they already made room for him by trading Cam Whitmore to the Wizards.

Reed Sheppard fits Houston’s rotation

While Sheppard has been primarily used as a shooting guard, he has shown flashes, like in the game against the Clippers, of being a high-level facilitator.

After trading away Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green, the Rockets need a scoring punch in the backcourt.

Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson are comfortable in the starting lineup, although with Green, Brooks, and Whitmore off to other teams, Sheppard and Aaron Holiday can share the backcourt off the bench, and it would behoove the Rockets to invest heavily in Sheppard over Holiday.

With shooting threats like Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith added to the fold, and Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason still in town, the Rockets need a facilitator who can penetrate to round out their roster.

Sheppard might be that guy.