The Houston Rockets’ rather cramped offense is still a work in progress. This was evident in Friday night’s game, a loss against the San Antonio Spurs. But playing against DPOY and maybe MVP front-runner Victor Wembanyama makes offenses look progressively unworkable. In any case, progress is good. That’s especially true for Houston’s young guard prospect, Reed Sheppard.
Rockets’ Sheppard Finding His Groove
Sheppard’s performance against the Spurs was one of the few bright sparks for the Rockets. He was 6-10 from the field and 4-7 from three. That let him rack up 16 points, and he also doled out six assists. With Wembanyama lurking in the paint, the Rockets certainly needed every outside scoring opportunity they could get. Sheppard’s performance against the Spurs wasn’t a total anomaly, though.
For the season, Sheppard is averaging 10.6 points on 45.2% shooting from three. He’s leading the Rockets in threes attempted at 5.3 per game while playing only 20.9 minutes. That’s a Rockets team that’s in desperate need of outside production as well. Their three-point percentage still leads the league, but they are now dead last in attempts.
The Rockets’ Offense
Of course, the Rockets’ offense in 2025-26 has actually been a major strength for the club. They sit third in offensive rating and, crucially, lead the league in offensive rebounding percentage. But they’ve also benefited from a generally light schedule. The Rockets started the season 0-2, and then went on to win the next five in a row. Of those five opponents, each one was in the midst of a full rebuild, soft reset, or full-blown dysfunction. Then they played the Spurs, who obviously have the flagship piece of their rebuild already in place, and they lost.
So while the Rockets’ bully-ball, rebound everything offense has seen its share of success, it’s unclear how sustainable it will be through a full 82-game season. Sheppard’s three-point stroke has been a nice little something extra on the side so far. Other shooters contributing to Houston’s league-leading three-point percentage look fluky. Tari Eason (57.9%) and Josh Okogie (53.8%) presumably won’t shoot over 50% for the season. Sheppard’s numbers, on the other hand, have some long-term credibility. He was projected as an elite shooter coming into the draft after all. His rookie season, averaging just 33.8%, may have been merely a transition to the NBA schedule and length on defense.
Should Sheppard’s Minutes Go Rocketing Up?
As for whether Sheppard should play more, in order to better leverage his shooting… it remains unclear. The inside games of stars Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson would certainly benefit from more spacing. Even the effortlessly efficient Kevin Durant is showing signs in recent games of finding it difficult to score through the congestion. Over Durant’s last three games, he’s shooting 35% from the field with 13 turnovers to 12 assists. Durant will probably bounce back to form soon enough. The spacing on this Rockets team is dreamy compared with some of his early years Thunder squads.
But Sheppard’s potential spacing comes at a cost. Sheppard has the lowest net rating of all rotation players. Other bench players like Eason and Steven Adams are well ahead of him. It mostly comes down to defense. On a team full of giants, his six-foot-two frame gets quickly targeted. Many teams go to great lengths to keep their small guards out of opponents’ actions. Houston already does that with Sengun, which has the benefit of leaving him available as a six-foot-eleven rim-protector. Head coach Ime Udoka has less patience for someone who can’t even be a big body at the rim or in the scrum for a rebound.
The Last Word
The Rockets will face another semi-compotent opponent in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday afternoon. Expect Sheppard’s role to remain largely unchanged. More minutes for Sheppard would have to come at the cost of somebody else’s. Okogie is doing just fine as the fifth starter. Moreover, Sheppard is doing just fine as a shooter off the bench. If Sheppard wants to show that he already outgrew his new groove, then he just needs to keep playing like he did against the Spurs… and as far as Udoka’s concerned, growing a couple of inches wouldn’t hurt either.
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