Reed Sheppard’s defense comes with an inherent flaw the Rockets must mitigate

For the Houston Rockets this season, Reed Sheppard, and his growing confidence in his perimeter shot, have been a major revelation.

Yet, according to Bryce Simon on the latest episode of the Game Theory Podcast, Sheppard will always carry a weakness in his defensive game that, although surmountable, will make his minutes more difficult on that end of the floor for the team: his propensity to gamble for steals and deflections.

"He is not always going to stay in solid position because he is not always going to hold up physically. He is going to go for the dig, the steal, the deflection, the reach-around... He just has to live in that world."

Bryce Simon

Reed Sheppard has already taken massive strides this season

Simon, in many ways, has a serious point. First, however, let's focus on the positives.

Sheppard has fully stepped into his increased role this season, now getting the starting slot in the backcourt next to Amen Thompson as a result of his excellent offensive play. Through his first 17 games, he's averaging 13.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc.

While there were concerns that his defensive limitations as a shorter guard would essentially make him unplayable in the the clutch minutes of games, he has already shown growth in his ability to stay in front of his man and not get completely blown by in the open court.

Therefore, even with his weaknesses considered, it truly seems as though the Rockets have a future star on their hands in Sheppard.

There's always going to be a weakness in his game, and the Rockets must learn to live with it

At the same time, on a team whose defensive front is so crucial to their identity, Sheppard is still perhaps the weakest defender on the roster. While he's no longer as obvious of a target on the defensive end, Houston will still need to provide help defenders in order to cut off lanes to the basket that may open up as a result of his slow-footedness.

He's already amassed 30 steals this season: a number that makes his defensive impact perhaps seem outsized when watching the games. His 3.2 defensive box plus-minus, while impressive, may be misleading as a result.

In order for him to get these steals, Sheppard gambles on his positioning quite often, and, when he misses, it can compromise the team's defense in disastrous ways.

Even in college, Sheppard's defensive game was based around steals and deflections, and it's hard to imagine him changing that at the NBA level. Therefore, in order to have him on the court on a routine basis, Houston must learn to anticipate and to mitigate Sheppard's lack of positioning on his man.