How Reid Shepard could perform for the Rockets without Kevin Durant

The Houston Rockets will be without Kevin Durant for at least the next two games because of a family matter. While losing a star is never ideal, it now opens a window for Reed Sheppard to step into a bigger role.

Shepard, who had the best game of his young career, is expected to make his first start of the season for Houston in Durant’s absence. And while Shepard has had a great season so farhe was off the bench, with the second unit, while playing less than half of the game.

Now is the Rockets’ chance to see if Shepard is ready to handle more minutes and the spotlight. That’s the ultimate goal for the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. After 66 career games, this could be his test run to see if he can handle star-level responsibility.

Shepard is currently averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting 48.8% from three-point range. His confidence, which seems to grow with each outing, was on full display Friday night when he took the microphone during his career-best performance against the Denver Nuggets.

The former Kentucky Wildcat scored 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including five 3-pointers.

Reed Shepard is staring at a big opportunity

Durant often serves as a savior for the Rockets’ offense, which will now be without that safety blanket. Without him, there’s an opportunity to see how Shepard could fill the void of one less initiator.

And the timing could be the best, after his performance on Friday.

“Just more scoring and more pick-and-roll ball handling,” Nuggets head coach David Adelman said after the game. “A complete threat on the scouting report. It just adds another layer. I think all teams would love to have a guy like that who can get hot at any time and turn a game around. You’ve got to guard him. He can get hot and hit five threes in a quarter. That’s what that kid can do.”

Shepherd has historically risen to the occasion when given more responsibility. Last year, he averaged 19.7 points in three starts. And, according to Cleaning The Glass, the Rockets are +33.9 in 65 possessions when Shepard plays alongside Amen Thompson, Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun – four other starters. With Durant sidelined, now is the time to lean more heavily on that potential as a natural step in Shepard’s progression.

Shepard credited Fred Van Vleet with helping unlock his big performance Friday. “Fred told me in one of the timeouts right before I went out, he was like ‘get in the middle of the pick-and-roll, step out and shoot a three.’ Then I just go out and do it and see the first couple go down … my teammates put me in position to make some open shots,” Shepard said.

Playing alongside Sengun could create more catch-and-shoot opportunities, while playing with Thompson could help the Rockets push the tempo even more, leading to more opportunities for Shepard in transition.

Now it’s time to see what Shepard is really capable of. Keeping him on the second unit for 23 minutes per game during his sophomore season seems overwhelming – especially when his opportunity to shine came.