Well, that does eliminate any chance Cam Whitmore had of the ignoble honor of being named Vegas Summer League MVP again. A 1-for-15 shooting performance will likely eliminate that possibility.
Word is starting to spread that Reed Shepard isn't just a promising rookie, but a literal basketball god.
The Rockets' perfect record in the Las Vegas Summer League is gone, along with likely any chance of Las Vegas Summer League championship glory.
Some of the good stuff is gone, too: the glowing praise from outsiders and the feeling that these Baby Rockets were invincible.
Has my hunch that both Cam Whitmore (younger than Reed Shepard) and Reed Shepard would make great NBA players vanished? Has Mark Price's own racial comparison to Reed Shepard (just the hairstyle?) ended?
no.
Well, maybe Mark Price (1x All-NBA First Team, 3x All-NBA Third Team, 4x All-Star) has doubts about Reid despite this tweet, but I don't think so.
Mark Price knows that sometimes young players just aren't in the shape they need to be to compete in the NBA's rigors, and when you play three games in four days in Sin City, the third game in a row, especially back-to-backs, can leave players a little worn down.
I think the Rockets' young (future) stars hit a bit of a wall today. Whitmore and Shepard's legs just didn't work and the Rockets lost. They played a lot of minutes in the previous games and they played a lot in this one too. For example, Shepard played 36 out of 40 minutes today.
The Rockets led after the first quarter and were down by one at halftime, but they pulled away in the third quarter, but there were ominous signs at the end of that quarter: The Pistons, without Ron Holland (who may have had a shooting advantage), went on a tremendous run to erase the Rockets' lead at the end of the third quarter and then dominated the Rockets in the fourth.
After scoring 16, 20, and 28 points in the previous three quarters, the Rockets only scored nine points in the fourth quarter, and the Pistons blew through games that were close or led by the Rockets. I think the numbers say it all. The Rockets ran out of steam by the end of the third quarter, missing at least 10 bunnies around the rim.
Reed Shepard's nearly perfect floater game was ruined, he missed layups, missed 3-pointers wide and short, made some bad passes, put pressure on the scoreboard, put pressure on the defense and picked up six fouls trying to keep the Rockets in the game or get back on track.
Shepard ended up going 6-17 with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals and four turnovers in 36 minutes. He's human, after all.
Cam Whitmore had a day to forget. 1-15, 0-5 3 points, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers. Cam passed pretty well today, so even if he shot horribly (and he did as this line shows), he still showed his passing prowess. In the first two games, Cam shot strong when he got close to the basket, but today he didn't even make any good-looking shots, just mid-range and floaters. He didn't make any layups, three-pointers or anything else. Was he being selfish? Not really, because nobody else could do much except Reed and Orlando Robinson.
Well, there was AJ Griffin. Griffin finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 2-of-3 three-pointers, 5 rebounds, 0 passes, 1 steal, and 1 block. I'm not sure what to make of Griffin. Some of his drives would have led to smooth, easy baskets in the NBA. Some would have been just as bad at the YMCA. His shooting is perfect when it works, and awful when it doesn't. His defense is as bad across the board as advertised. Meanwhile, a 6'7″ shooter is not easy to find, despite what the Rockets may be making it look like with Cam. This was better than his first two games. We'll see what happens in the final game.
Orlando Robinson, replacing Nufaire Dante as the Rockets' main big man, had another good game. He shot 5-of-11 and surprisingly 2-of-3 from 3-point range for 13 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and only 3 PF. He's a true 7-footer with good instincts inside and looks to be able to shoot a few. If he could actually shoot 3-pointers, he could be a spacing center for the Rockets. There's not a lot of evidence in the NBA to support or oppose that. He shot very few with the Heat, but he did so at a high percentage. Not even the Heat culture and his age at 24 could stop him from declining. He also missed a bunny shot in the 4th quarter.
In some ways, it was a loss for the Rockets not to use Dante more. Robinson played hard and got the rebounds, but he also played unselfishly, taking more difficult shots rather than easier passes near the basket throughout the game. Almost no one set picks or made any moves at all (Dante played in the first two games but barely this one), even a guy like Griffin who is in his third year in the NBA.
Nate Williams was the only player the Rockets reserves actually played, but he played better than expected considering his awful behavior at the end of the game: 14 points, 6-for-14 shooting, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block (though he did have 4 turnovers, most of which were poor decisions on basket attempts).
I expected the best from Kira Lewis, but I wonder if he's really a PG in the traditional sense or just a diminutive scorer akin to Collin Sexton. 7 minutes of play probably isn't enough to really tell anything.
I think Rockets VSL coach Garrett Jackson basically used his best players too much, and then when they needed to, they ran out of steam. Sometimes you have to use lesser players, even if your bench is a little off, to get your best players when you really need them. Jackson used Sheppard and Whitmore in the last two games, whenever they were making a little push, even late in the fourth quarter, in games that seemed out of reach. Whitmore and Sheppard certainly closed those games, but it seemed to come at a cost.
The Rockets bench, excluding Robinson, played just 32 minutes today, which is way too low and I call it a coaching failure because I think it was.
Ultimately, I truly hope this is a learning opportunity for the players and the coaches as well. Sheppard and Whitmore clearly hit a wall. Missing shots is not a character flaw, especially when it's obvious how tired the players are. It's up to the players to get the job done, but it's also up to the coach to properly manage the minutes and get the bench going. I think Garrett Jackson completely failed that test, as did the young Rockets. Unlike many of the decisions in Las Vegas, this one didn't matter much, so I'll chalk it up to experience.
Now, we'll see if Sheppard and Whitmore decide they're ready to break through that barrier next time, as that's what it takes to be a great NBA player, and I believe they'll get there.
