For NBA offenses that struggle in half-court situations, the question of structured offense versus a read-and-react system is a sliding scale that differs from team to team. Younger, less experienced players tend to benefit from set playcalls, with the idea that as games and seasons are accumulated, they\u2019ll eventually be able to conduct possessions on their own based on what an opposing defense presents.<\/p>\n
A team like Houston, which has been a bottom-third half-court offense<\/a> since head coach Ime Udoka took over in 2023, is an interesting case study. As far as age is concerned, the Rockets sit firmly in the middle when both minutes and usage<\/a> are taken into account, which makes sense given how Udoka tends to approach things. Not too young of a group to need instruction, not too old to give full autonomy.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a balance,\u201d Udoka said late last month. \u201cWe\u2019re not the fastest-paced team, but I don\u2019t want to stop and call plays every time. I think at times, you need to get the proper look or shot. But that\u2019s where we talk about the growth of our young guys. Understanding what to get and when to attack \u2014 Amen [Thompson] and Reed [Sheppard] are in that boat. At the same time, I don\u2019t want to slow down and have them thinking too much. Use their strengths and not take away their aggressiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n Specifically concerning Sheppard, the former No. 3 pick who has seen his playing time double due to his emergence as a reliable playmaker and bona fide floor spacer, Udoka\u2019s words are poignant. The Rockets have won four out of their last five games, with Sheppard averaging 19.2 points, 5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting an impressive 46.3% from 3 on nearly 11 (!) attempts \u2014 in addition to 2.2 steals and 1 block a night. He\u2019s third in minutes during that span and second in net rating while posting the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team.<\/p>\n Sheppard\u2019s recent improvement as a creator is noteworthy. Whether it’s because of a confidence boost, growing IQ or both, Sheppard looks poised with the ball in his hands, capable of making wraparound passes, finding downhill threats or simply keeping plays alive. According to Second Spectrum, Sheppard\u2019s 63 assist points created over the past five games wedge him between Stephon Castle and LaMelo Ball \u2014 a good indication of his growth.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In other words, he\u2019s looked every part of a legitimate NBA starter. A really frickin\u2019 good one.<\/p>\n Because of the similarities both Sheppard and the injured Fred VanVleet share, a lot of what Sheppard is able to accomplish this season will naturally be viewed through that lens. VanVleet is widely regarded as one of the premier floor managers, with a knack for limiting turnovers while being able to keep an offense organized. (Houston\u2019s half-court issues last season were more from spacing, personnel and tactical issues that VanVleet\u2019s structure couldn\u2019t always accommodate.)<\/p>\n I\u2019ve previously referred to Sheppard as a low-risk initiator, but there\u2019s a \u201cpotentially very good reward\u201d caveat that needs to be added. It\u2019s one thing to be a trusted source of ball security \u2014 his 10.4 turnover rate is in the 83rd percentile among guards, according to Cleaning the Glass. It\u2019s another to be that good of an outside shooter and relocator playing next to Kevin Durant, one of the most gravitationally inclined players in NBA history. It\u2019s even more mind-boggling considering Houston\u2019s insistence on taking any shot but a 3. The Rockets are 28th in 3-point rate, but have quietly climbed to 22nd over the past five games \u2014 mostly due to Sheppard\u2019s presence. He\u2019s simply too good of a shooter on a low-volume team to be buried on the bench, especially when you consider what he can do with the ball in his hands.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n (The book is out on Houston, and in the postseason teams will throw every zone possible at the Rockets and force them to beat them from deep. Sheppard\u2019s spacing has the potential to alter Udoka\u2019s game plan, a necessity if they have any hopes of making a deep playoff run in a few weeks.)<\/p>\n But what is Sheppard\u2019s ultimate role on this team and where\/how do you fit him in? He\u2019s currently been inserted into the starting lineup while Jabari Smith Jr. manages an ankle injury, but Udoka told reporters that Smith will slot back into his original role upon his return, pushing Sheppard back to the reserves.<\/p>\n In all honesty, the question of starting or coming off the bench truly doesn\u2019t matter as much as who closes games, which is where Sheppard can truly make his mark. The Rockets remain one of the league\u2019s more confusing clutch units, with the third-worst turnover rate and a bottom-10 net rating despite the No. 1 offensive rebounding rate. Most of Sheppard\u2019s minutes are shared with the starters plus reserve big Clint Capela, and it\u2019s clear Houston has been pushing the combined development of Sheppard and Thompson for its long-term success.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s critical that Sheppard is given both the time, freedom and personnel to have his greatest output. Udoka has tried both approaches \u2014 allowing Sheppard to operate on the fly and calling him over to go through actual sets \u2014 and that combination is how the second-year guard can flourish, quickly.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of both,\u201d Sheppard told Yahoo Sports recently of how he sees the floor in real time. \u201cThe defense isn\u2019t going to be the same every game or every trip down the court, so having some plays in your back pocket that you can go to no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sheppard question is one that will surface repeatedly between now and the end of the season. It\u2019s understood that Udoka has a preference for defensive-minded players, and Sheppard is a playmaker in that regard. Yes, his size and frame make him a target \u2014 and he could become a focal point in the playoffs \u2014 but there\u2019s no denying his mentality in competing at that end of the floor. Sheppard is in the 76th percentile in DARKO DPM, a defensive impact metric per 100 possessions, and is 84th in Stop%, a Databallr<\/a> combination of steals, blocks and offensive fouls drawn per 100 possessions.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no doubt that Sheppard has the tools to be a very impactful player for a very long time. But the frequency in which he\u2019s given the opportunity, how that affects Houston\u2019s order of operations and the marriage of both is the biggest underlying factor of the Rockets\u2019 success, both now and in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For NBA offenses that struggle in half-court situations, the question of structured offense versus a read-and-react system is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,19699,258993,19703,5145,67416,19697,7216,12998,590,258992,85,12848,54433],"class_list":{"0":"post-518703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-clint-capela","11":"tag-david-lee","12":"tag-fred-vanvleet","13":"tag-houston","14":"tag-ime-udoka","15":"tag-jabari-smith-jr","16":"tag-kevin-durant","17":"tag-lamelo-ball","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-sheppard","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-stephon-castle","22":"tag-the-rockets"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}