It’s becoming apparent that the Houston Rockets need to shore up their point guard depth if they’ll make a deep playoff run this year. However, according to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, head coach Ime Udoka confirmed that the team will not be shopping for a point guard in the trade market.
At the time of writing, the Houston Rockets have Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and JD Davison in the point guard position, with Fred VanVleet still recovering from his ACL injury. Wright implied that the team is banking on Sheppard’s development in particular.
“Ime (Udoka) sort of said that he’s got to play,” Wright explained on the Howdy Partners podcast. “He and Amen are going to be keys to really making that offense work as the season progresses, and there ain’t no help coming, man.”
“Ime told me that they are not going to get a point guard at the trade deadline, said, ‘Hey, you know the second apron is what it is, we didn’t have that much money anyway to work with.’ So, there’s no help coming to get better,” he continued. “Unless it’s Fred VanVleet back for the playoffs, which we’ve talked about; it’s a goal, certainly not a guarantee, and then even if he is cleared… So yeah, they need Reed Shepard to perform.”
Houston Rockets News: Reed Sheppard gets a vote of confidence from colleagues
Reed Sheppard has seen his minutes and production increase in the past few games, despite not being a regular starter. In the Houston Rockets‘ 128-122 road loss against the Philadelphia 76ers last night, the former third overall pick produced 14 points, four assists, two steals, and four three-pointers on 5-for-14 shooting from the field in 23 minutes.
“I feel that’s what (Sheppard’s) role is starting to turn into,” Kevin Durant said of Sheppard via the Houston Chronicle. “A guy that can handle, that can come off and shoot threes, that can get us going. It’s a spark plug for us.”
“Reed brings another dynamic, no doubt, a little bit of what Fred (VanVleet) did last year, getting those walk-in threes when the bigs are back in the drop,” Udoka added. “And we want him to shoot that every time, be aggressive… I think it opens things up for us.”
