The Houston Rockets’ Monday night contest against the Washington Wizards proved to be much tougher than anticipated, especially as the Wizards were deliberately looking to lose games to gain better lottery odds. The Rockets won by only five points, 123–118, and they suffered an early exit from Amen Thompson, who left after about four minutes in the fourth quarter due to an ankle injury.
Houston’s depth was already quite shaky, and Thompson’s early departure made things worse for the team. But when a man goes down, there’s an opportunity for someone to step up, and that’s exactly what Reed Shepard did.
Shepard did not have good shooting nights; He went 7-18 from the field and just 4-11 from beyond the arc. But the Rockets made up for it with their disruptive ability on defense, playmaking and stat sheet-stuffing tactics.
He swiped the ball six times on the night, blocked two shots, recorded 10 dimes and pulled in seven boards and in doing so, he became the fourth sophomore in NBA history to average at least 15 points, five rebounds, 10 assists, five steals and two blocks in a single game, joining Larry Bird, Alvin Robertson and Alexander Volkov as the only ones to do so, according to StatMuse.
Reed Shepard is impressing Rockets brass
The Rockets’ competitive identity is built on grit and defense, and Shepard appears to be the antithesis of such an identity, as he plays with a more free-flowing style and steals numbers despite not being the most dominant on defense. But Shepard is stepping up on that end of the floor, and it will be important for him to earn more minutes under head coach Ime Udoka.
With Thompson facing a potential multi-game absence due to ankle trouble, Shepard could be in for a strong finish to the 2025-26 campaign.
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