Reed Sheppard’s path in Houston has suddenly gotten a lot murkier.
That’s the reality around the Rockets after a preseason that has made one thing clear: the backcourt is crowded, and not everyone is going to fit. Bogdan Bogdanovic has been knocking down 41.2% of his 5.7 threes per game, including looks above the break and off the catch.
Marcus Smart has brought the same hard-edged defense and all-around guard play he’s known for, while Fred VanVleet has not been efficient as a scorer but has still delivered 7.5 assists against just 0.5 turnovers per game. Even with the cold shooting, the offense has looked cleaner with VanVleet on the floor.
That leaves Sheppard in an awkward spot.
He’s been productive in the exhibition games, firing 8.3 threes per game and making 44.0% of them. There’s still plenty of reason to believe he can grow into one of the league’s best shooters. The problem is that preseason has also highlighted how much guard depth the Rockets added this summer, and that makes his route to steady minutes look increasingly complicated.
It’s not really about the preseason itself, either. Minute totals in October can mean almost anything, and only Ime Udoka knows exactly what he’s planning.
But the current roster construction makes the squeeze obvious. Asking Sheppard to play ahead of Smart would be a tough sell, and the piece of his game that keeps coming up is the same one that could keep him off the floor: defense.
He still looks like a liability there, and that alone could make coaches hesitant.
Bogdanovic, for all his own defensive shortcomings, at least gives Houston a body in the mix. The concern with Sheppard is different.
With him and Alperen Sengun together, the defensive questions get louder. That’s not a knock on Sheppard’s offensive talent; it’s just a reminder that a slick jumper only solves so much if the other end becomes a problem.
The larger issue is what this means for his development arc. Sheppard played 12.6 minutes per game as a rookie and 26.2 as a sophomore, and that jump came with VanVleet sidelined.
Now VanVleet is back, Smart is in the fold, and Bogdanovic adds yet another guard option. That makes it hard to see a path where Sheppard’s role naturally grows from here.
If anything, regression seems more likely.
Maybe that changes. Maybe he pushes his way into more usage, or an injury opens the door again.
But right now, heading into what is supposed to be a pivotal third season, the signs point the other way. Sheppard’s future in Houston is not exactly looking secure.
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Bogdanovic helped Houston close the preseason with a win over Oklahoma City, giving the team a strong final look before the games start to count. The Rockets finished 2-1 in exhibition play, but the bigger question now is how Udoka sorts out the minutes behind his top group, especially if Bogdanovic keeps giving the staff a reason to pause before settling on the opening-night plan. [Read more 🡒]
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Amen Thompson could be part of that answer if the Rockets decide to lean into his playmaking more, but there is also a bigger swing on the board if they want a more established fix. Houstons playoff ambitions make the position hard to ignore, and the front office may have to decide whether internal development is enough or whether a trade path is necessary to raise the ceiling of the group. [Read more 🡒]
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Houstons rise last season, capped by a 52-30 finish, came with the kind of abrupt playoff exit that tends to sharpen every conversation around a young core. With Kevin Durant now in the mix alongside Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet, the Rockets enter the 2026-27 season with more expectations than excuses, and more eyes on which of their rising pieces is ready to take the next step.
That question has already become a talking point among On SI writers, who are weighing which young Rocket carries the biggest burden going forward. Reed Sheppard is part of that discussion, but so are Sengun and Thompson, and the answer may say as much about the teams future shape as it does about any one players development. [Read more 🡒]