Grading Reed Sheppard's Houston Rockets debut

Houston Rockets have been waiting since the draft. The wait is officially over.

Reed Sheppard has officially made his NBA debut.

It could not have come at a more turbulent time. This was a roller coaster of a game. The Rockets held a 17-point lead in the first half, but they squandered it. In the end, they lost by a final score of 110-105

Don’t put that on Sheppard. He only played 16 minutes.

How did he look when he was on the floor?

Sheppard solid in NBA debut

Statistically, he wasn’t particularly impressive. Sheppard had 4 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. As is often the case, it’s worth looking beyond the stats here.

Sheppard played with poise throughout this game. At times, it was easy to forget that this was his first regular-season appearance. He was meticulous in his decision-making.

He may have been too meticulous. Sheppard will eventually need to play with some reckless abandon to be a primary playmaker in the NBA. He needs to have the confidence to take big shots to be a star. Often, Sheppard would probe the ball in the pick-and-roll only to make a lateral pass instead of trying to create an advantage.

Perhaps he was nervous. Sheppard did turn the ball over three times against the Hornets. While his decision-making generally deserves praise, some athletic limitations seemed to hinder his ability to penetrate the teeth of the defense in this contest.

Still, to reiterate: this was his first NBA game. Sheppard had some stunning moments. A cross-court bounce pass to Fred VanVleet in the first half put his floor vision on full display. That was likely his most prominent highlight reel moment in his NBA debut.

Sheppard also managed to generate an easy layup out of the pick-and-roll in the third quarter as well. That was an especially encouraging sequence. Although, it's also worth noting that Sheppard only attempted a single three in this contest. The Rockets will expect more volume from beyond the arch moving forward.

It would be difficult to give Sheppard an A+ in a game that he hardly affected. Still, he gave a solid performance that should give Rockets fans some hope.

All told, he was worth waiting for.

Grade: B