Reed Sheppard instantly confirms the Rockets' worst Fred VanVleet fears

As the Houston Rockets have debuted their double-big lineup in their season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team has been slow to the ball on the defensive end from the start of the game and, overall, have looked sub-par defensively compared to their performance last season.

Yet, the ugliest wart so far for the Rockets has been Reed Sheppard's minutes on defense, as he came off the bench and was immediately targeted multiple times by some of the Thunder's quicker players.

While Sheppard projects to take on a larger role this season, his first regular season appearance has not yielded positive results so far.

Reed Sheppard has looked like a target on defense so far

Last season, as Sheppard entered Houston as the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, it was well-known that he had the potential to be a generational perimeter shooter. Yet, his lack of offensive experience and general defensive viability largely kept him from fully cracking the rotation apart from developmental purposes.

Now, with the devastating injury that starting point guard Fred VanVleet sustained late this offseason, Sheppard will need to take on significant minutes no matter what growing pains he might experience.

Although VanVleet was a smaller guard, he was intense enough at the point-of-attack and quick enough getting around screens that he was still an incredible defender for his size. His loss will impact Houston's defense in ways that many people would not otherwise have noticed.

Meanwhile, as a smaller guard without quick lateral movement, it will be a long and arduous journey for Sheppard to become a capable defender, and Oklahoma City, almost as soon as he came in the game, took full advantage of that.

An especially gruesome moment was when Lu Dort hit Sheppard with a spin move at the baseline, getting to the rim for an easy basket that should have been somewhat handily defended by a capable lateral mover.

Moreover, while Sheppard made one three in his first five minutes in the game, he was not really being used as a facilitator. If he proves to be a defensive liability, and is still limited on offense to just being a floor-spacer, it will be difficult for him to justify his minutes.

The scary thing is that the Rockets have no choice but to play Sheppard in VanVleet's absence, and moments like this remind fans brutally of what they lost when VanVleet went down.