Plus-minus value +17! 13+3+4, Sheppard did not disappoint me, Uduka spoke his mind after the game

The Rockets defeated the Trail Blazers 140-116 and won three consecutive games. Currently, they have started with 8 wins and 3 losses and are tied for third and fourth in the Western Conference with the same record as the Spurs. I have to say that the Rockets are getting better and better. Without Van Jordan, fans feel that the sky is falling. Dream Green even said that the Rockets can give up this season. Without the point guard engine, the Rockets cannot play at all. But it seems to be okay so far, because Uduka also didn't have a ball-handling core when he coached the Celtics.

When he was in the Green Army, Uduka relied on the overall offense, which prevented the team from relying on anyone. The same is true for the Rockets now. Fan Jordan is not here, so Amen, Shen Jing and Durant are allowed to launch the organization together. Then there was Sheppard sitting on the bench, who was also practicing organization. Sheppard's flash pass today required some organizational talent. At present, the Rockets only have organizational talent. Shepard is indeed the strongest. Amen can only serve as an initiator, but the organization is still lacking. After all, there is no basket from the outside.

The only player in the Rockets who can do Van Jordan's job is Sheppard. Sheppard can shoot, can defend and steal extremely hard, and then the confrontation also comes up. The most important thing is that Sheppard is the third overall pick and Van Jordan is the undrafted one. They are not on the same level in terms of talent. Van Jordan relied on motivation, while Sheppard had absolute talent. If Van Jordan's condition drops off a cliff after a serious injury, then the Rockets' training of Shepard will be seamless.

Judging from the overall performance, Sheppard's self-confidence and his ability to adjust are all on display. The shooting started off as mediocre, with 2 of 7 shots at one point, but after 25 minutes, he made 5 of 12 shots, 3 of 9 three-pointers, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, with a plus-minus of +17. Sheppard's help to the Rockets today was not his 13 points, but his ability to open up space when he came on the court, so that opponents did not dare to double-team Durant. The most surprising thing is the defensive steal ability. Today's one-on-one interception, Durant and Shen Jing all came up to celebrate with Shepard and encourage him.

In fact, this is Sheppard's true rookie season, but last year he averaged 20 points and 5 assists per game as a starter, and shot 52% from three-point range. In fact, it also shows that Shepard has a historical level of shooting ability, but lacks in confrontation. During the offseason, Shepard deliberately gained 15 pounds, which put him in a lot of trouble. People have always said that Udoka favored Shepard over the White Devil. But judging from the current performance of the two, will you still question Uduka? The White Devils can defend without trying hard, while Shepard never loses his position defensively and cannot stop him except in confrontation.

When Uduka commented on Shepard after the game, he also spoke from his heart, and he also held it back for a long time.

Uduka said: "I have always had faith in Shepard. He performed brilliantly in the few games our personnel missed last season. He is capable, and VanVleet was injured this year. I told Shepard, we hope you can perform. You don't lose to any opponent on the court, and you don't have to take a back seat. What surprises me most is that his defense is improving. , Of course I don’t really like his risky steals, but overall he has improved a lot. "

Looking at Sheppard’s data in the past four games, he averaged 16.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals in only 26.5 minutes per game, shooting 58.1% from the field and 53.3% from the three-point range. To be honest, it is quite rare for Shepard to be able to produce such comprehensive data with this data and time. Pay attention to his 2.8 steals. As Uduka said, it is very risky, but Shepard has the talent to steal the ball. The ruthlessness and accuracy of the following hand interceptions are probably only matched by Paul at his peak. As the saying goes, Shepard really wants to fulfill his talent. This is the ghost story that the Rockets have given to the entire league.