Rocket draft exposed! The 19-year-old wants to join! Perfectly fitting Udoka, Houston ushered in a revival

Nerd basketball

2024-06-04 13:10Published in Jiangxi

With the draft approaching, although this year is a small year, many teams have their own sweethearts. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers are eager to pick LeBron James' eldest son, and Bronny James will fulfill the dream of father-son team. The reason why Lao Zhan has not signed the 163 million contract is also to see if Pelinka can win his heart this year, and also to see if the Lakers' sincerity in renewing the contract is enough.

The Houston Rockets, in the draft draw, won this year's probe with less than 15% probability. This is thanks to Harden joining the Nets at that time, which led to today's happiness. But this happiness has also become a trouble. Is the Rockets' precious probe pick to be traded for an All-Star player? Or use it for yourself and find a cornerstone player who fits the team's system.

Of course, the latter is obviously more suitable in the long run, and the All-Star can certainly improve the team's record in the short term, but it can't stand the fact that people will run away, or there is a risk of injury. Draft experts have also recently given their opinions, most of them believe that the Houston Rockets should keep this year's pick, if the best candidate, is not the previous Klingen, but the sharpshooter Reed Shepard from the University of Kentucky.

Reed Shepard was born in the United States on June 24, 2004. Shepard is 6'3 (191 cm), weighs 182 lbs (83 kg) and has an arm span of 6'3 (191 cm), making him a point guard and shooting guard. The draft template given by the veteran scout was: Derrick White and the enhanced version of Fredette.

Shepard played in 33 games for the University of Kentucky in the 2023-24 season, averaging 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.7 blocks in 28.9 minutes per game, shooting 53.6% from the field, 52.1% from three-point range, and 83.1% from the free throw line. The scoring efficiency is very high, and it is guaranteed to be produced by a prestigious school, this guy does have something on him.

His draft report shows that although he is not very tall, he is very aggressive defensively and can cause a lot of problems for ball carriers. At the same time, when defending off the ball, he has an outstanding ability to read the game, accurately predict the opponent's passing path and complete the tackle, and disrupt the opponent's offensive plan.

In addition, the mental quality is good. Even if one or two gambling defenses fail, he can quickly adjust and move on to the next defensive round. The main thing is Shepard's shooting ability. The spawn speed is fast, the shooting point is also high, the range is relatively long, and the potential is high, as long as the opponent is given a little space, there will be space.

Shepard is not only a scoring guard, but also a playmaker, with the basic ball skills required of a defender, with quick left-right cross-dribbling and a series of hesitant steps. The ability to switch between left and right hands is also very good, and the finishing ability under the basket is also good, averaging 4.5 assists per game, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

At this year's joint tryout, Shepard achieved a staggering 42 inches (106.68 cm) in his run-up jump, the highest number of any players who took part in the joint tryout, and he measured a little taller than expected at 6 feet 3 inches (about 191 cm).

Outstanding shooting ability, defensive line, and some organizational ability, the Rockets now lack such a guard, which can be said to be a perfect fit for Udoka.

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