Reed Shepard earns a huge Mark Price compliment from Bill Simmons

The The Houston Rockets may not have been able to overcome Denver Nuggets on Friday night at NBA Cup action, losing 112-109, but there were a few positives they could take away from that contest. One of those is the play of the sophomore quarterback Reed Sheppard. With Houston in need of a perimeter shooter and playmaker following Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury, Shepard has been stepping up lately to fill a huge void.

Shepherd finished with 27 points and four assists in 37 minutes off the bench. He made five 3-pointers and was very efficient, making nine of his 13 field goals tonight. He was also plus-13 for the Rockets in a three-point loss.

it is it is now apparent that Sheppard is more than just a shooter. He positively impacts the game for the Rockets with the spacing he provides, and his ball handling allows their offense to be much more coherent. And he’s convincing fans and members of the media that he’s a star in the making with every consistent move he puts together.

in fact Bill Simmons of the Ringer even evoked Mark Price’s name in watching Shepard’s performance Friday against the Nuggets.

“This Reid Shepard appearance is exciting. Every game goes 6 minutes where it looks like the Rockets cloned Mark Price,” Simmons wrote on his official account on X (formerly Twitter).

Price was one of the most effective point guards of his time, so the comparison has to feel very good for the Rockets’ up-and-coming point guard.

The Rockets need Reed Sheppard to break out

Shepard has plenty of opportunities to establish himself as an important part of the Rockets’ rotation, especially amid injuries to key guys like Tari Eason, Dorian Finney-Smith and VanVleet.

His rookie season may have been terrible, but it’s not like Price set the world on fire when he started his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. During Price’s rookie year, he averaged just 6.9 points in 67 games while playing just 18.2 minutes per night off the bench.

Price then blossomed into a perennial 50-40-90 threat while leading a competitive Cavs team. Could Shepard follow a similar trajectory?