HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- A little more than a minute into the second quarter of Wednesday's season-opening loss to the Hornets, Reed Sheppard came around a screen from Jock Landale and fired up the first three-pointer of his NBA career.
The shot rimmed out. Sheppard finished with four points on 2-of-5 shooting in his NBA debut, but that second quarter shot was the only three he attempted all night.
"He passed off some other ones where he has to be able to get that (shot) off quicker," Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said Thursday. "We also didn't do the best job of freeing him up."
Sheppard was drafted third overall in June's draft in large part because he was seen as an elite shooter, and Udoka said the Hornets were prepared to take that away when the 20-year old stepped on the floor.
"Teams know who he is coming in, and they were extra aggressive with their ball pressure on him," Udoka said. "So his setup and our screens are gonna have to be much better to get him the space that he needs to get those off."
Sheppard initiated the Rockets offense for some of the 16 minutes he was on the floor against Charlotte, but he also shared the floor with Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green at times, taking him off the ball.
This is supposed to give him catch and shoot opportunities, but none of his field goal attempts on Wednesday came off the catch, which Udoka seemed to blame more on Sheppard than anyone else.
"Not gonna put a ton of stock into one game, his first game as a rookie, but being ready to shoot, understanding the shots that we want him to take, and understanding the time and space that he has to get it off with."
Sheppard shot 52.1 percent from behind the three-point arc last season at Kentucky.
