Ime Udoka truth Rockets fans must immediately accept after Fred VanVleet injury

With the news of the ACL injury to Fred VanVleet, which could keep him out for the entirety of this upcoming season, fans of the Houston Rockets immediately knew that some serious re-shuffling was coming to the rotation.

Yet, despite their lack of backcourt depth, Brian Windhorst, on the latest episode of The Hoop Collective, claims that head coach Ime Udoka will be exceedingly hesitant to start young guard Reed Sheppard, instead opting for a playmaking-by-committee approach: a gamble that the team's success this season will depend upon.

Although the team has capable playmakers in Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun already in their starting lineup, this is a gamble that the team must take, leaving Sheppard in an enhanced bench role as a result of his lack of defensive capabilities.

Ime Udoka will not start Reed Sheppard no matter what

Heading into the season, the team's guard depth behind VanVleet was already a concern. Although Aaron Holiday and Josh Okogie are proven players in their roles, there is little evidence that they could handle the increased distribution workload that could come with a starting spot.

Moreover, Sheppard, who had a sub-par rookie year and largely failed to crack the team's rotation down the stretch of the season, was slated for a rotational role largely for developmental purposes this season.

According to Windhorst, this combination of facts could lead Udoka down an uncommon path in attempting to cope with the VanVleet injury: "Number one, I don't see Ime Udoka starting a point guard with this alignment who can't defend. Number two... if you are intending your team to compete, to win the Western Conference, you cannot have your point guard rotation be two inexperienced players."

A major aspect of this conundrum comes down to the fact that Houston is hard-capped at the first apron, and, as it stands, they are unable to add any more players through free agency. Therefore, they must seek out the playmaking they need from within their existing roster.

Although Sheppard showed potential as a ball-handler during his time at Kentucky, his general ineffectiveness on both sides of the ball will likely prevent him from getting the starting role. If there's one thing we know about Udoka it's that he values defensive viability, and Sheppard, at this point in his career, is lacking that.

It is likely, then, that the team will make the move to start Amen Thompson, who averaged 4.3 assists per 36 minutes last season, at point guard while also allowing Holiday to take on more minutes in order to give them more rotational versatility.

Additionally, Sengun, who has developed excellently as a distributor over the past couple of seasons, will help take on this workload.

Therefore, while much speculation has sprouted up regarding Sheppard's new role within the offense, it is clear that Udoka will not be willing to take such a gamble this season (at least not immediately).