Reed Sheppard is the Rockets' spacing guard: 13.5 points in 26.2 minutes last season, with a 39.4 percent mark on threes. With Fred VanVleet out and Marcus Smart listed, Houston needs him on the floor and shooting.
Last season
Sheppard played all 82 games and scored 13.5 a night with 3.4 assists and 2.9 boards in 26.2 minutes. He made 43.0 percent of his field goals, 39.4 percent of his threes on 7.0 tries a game and 80.2 percent of his free throws. Volume plus accuracy is the whole case for him, and it held for a full season.
Last season, advanced
His offensive rating was 115.9, below Houston's team mark of 117.5, while his defensive rating of 111.6 beat the team's 112.1. Usage was 21.0 percent, true shooting 56.4 percent and assist rate 18.3 percent. That profile is a shooter who finishes plays more than he creates them, and a 5.3 rebound rate says he adds little on the glass.
Last season, lineups
The groupings were uneven. Durant, Sengun, Smith, Thompson and Sheppard logged 273 minutes at minus 6.4, and the version with Eason in place of Smith went minus 7.4 over 77 minutes. Put Capela and Finney-Smith around Durant, Thompson and Sheppard and the number jumped to plus 21.1, though in only 84 minutes. The sample is small. The direction is worth watching.
Oct. 22 and 23
Sheppard was first listed with a knee issue in his left leg on Oct. 22. A day later he was ruled Out, and he is absent from the box score of Houston's 114-110 win in San Antonio. Smart played 21 minutes and Bogdan Bogdanovic nine. Smart scored 5 points on 1-of-6 shooting, a reminder of what the guard rotation loses without Sheppard's shot.
Today
Sheppard came off the Out list on Oct. 24 with a same-day return date. VanVleet is Out until Oct. 26, and Smart carries his own forearm listing. Sheppard's $11.1 million this season and $14.0 million next year are modest money on a payroll $5.1 million over the tax line. His job is simple: keep the floor spaced and the turnovers low while the veterans heal.
Is Reed Sheppard playing against the Hawks?
His knee listing eased from Out on Oct. 24 and carries a same-day return date, so he is not ruled out for tonight's game at Atlanta.
How did Reed Sheppard shoot last season?
He made 39.4 percent of his threes on 7.0 attempts a game, 43.0 percent of his field goals overall and 80.2 percent of his free throws.
