Review of the first battle: Everyone beats Shepard! Playing Shepard is equal to 4 versus 5

Thunder is really a touchstone!

The Rockets played the defending champion in the first game of the regular season and ultimately lost the game in two overtimes. In this game, the Thunder directly targeted the Rockets' weaknesses and hit them hard, setting an example for the entire league.

The Rockets' weakness is Shepard.

Due to VanVleet's season reimbursement, the Rockets have to use Amen Thompson as the starting point guard, and Durant will also have a certain amount of time to control the ball. However, the Rockets' backcourt depth is limited, and Shepard must be used.

What type of player is Shepard?

The entire league knows that Sheppard now only has the label of No. 3 overall pick. In fact, he has huge problems in both offense and defense. He is the Rockets' weakness.

With 5 minutes and 27 seconds left in the first quarter, Shepard came on as a substitute.

As a result, as soon as Shepard came up, the Thunder immediately moved the ball, and finally passed it to Dort in the bottom corner. When Shepard went to cover up the defense, Dort passed by in one step and reached the basket, causing Durant to foul.

Immediately after the Thunder counterattacked, Dort looked at Shepard, changed direction and then turned around, scoring two points neatly. Is it rare to see Dort dribbling like this?

Alexander dribbled past half-court. Dort immediately raised the pick-and-roll and handed Shepard to Alexander. Alexander only used a behind-the-back dribble to throw away Shepard and drive to the basket. The ball was kicked out of bounds by Durant, who was on defense, and the Thunder challenged it. As a result, in slow motion replay, Sheppard's thug fouled, sending Alexander to the free throw line.

In the third quarter, Shepard faced Wallace and was also passed by one step.

Shepard defended Wiggins, but was still passed by one step. Wiggins went to the basket and completed a dunk directly.

If Shepard is successfully beaten in isolation by a superstar like Alexander every time, it is understandable that the Rockets can also arrange for other players to switch defenses, but when Dort, Wiggins, and Wallace can easily get past him in one step, then the Rockets' defensive system will collapse, crack at a bit, and lose everything.

With him on the court, the Rockets' defense is equivalent to 4 defense and 5 defense.

If Shepard can help the Rockets on the offensive end and smooth out the points lost on the defensive end, then Shepard can still stay on the court, but he is also eye-catching on the offensive end.

Shepard hit a three-pointer in the first quarter,

However, the Thunder's defensive strategy has always been to shrink the inside. Shepard was left open outside the three-point line, and Durant spent most of the time They have to face the opponent's double-team all the time.

Amen can't shoot a three-pointer, Ethan's three-pointer is inaccurate, Shepard is also left open, the Rockets are congested inside, and the space is particularly poor. The Rockets were able to play double overtime with the Thunder, thanks to Shen Jing's 5 three-pointers in this game.

Not only is Sheppard unguarded when he doesn't have the ball, he's even worse when he's holding the ball. His passing awareness is very poor. For example, in the last attack of the first quarter, Shen Jing was out of position and wanted the ball against Wiggins. Shepard refused to give it to him. He made a lucky break and broke through. As a result, he had no chance and had to give it to Shen Jing.

The attack time was only 4 seconds. Shen Jing had no choice but to force the shot. The three-point result was still a 24-second violation.

In the second quarter, after Sheppard and Adams picked and rolled, they passed the ball directly out of bounds. He thought Amen was still standing at the original position, but Amen was halfway through the air cut. It was possible to pass an alley-oop to Amen.

After this mistake, the Thunder hit a three-pointer. Shepard was eager to regain face. There were 8 seconds left in the attack time. He took the ball and shot a three-pointer. Durant was wide open and wanted the ball but refused to give it to him.

Shepard's The passing awareness and technique are both too poor. Shen Jing misplaced the ball and Shepard passed the ball in a very poor position. Shen Jing was not comfortable at all when he received the ball. He forced his back to shoot.

The above are the epitome of Shepard's offensive and defensive ends in this game. Although it cannot be inferred that Shepard will be like this in all games this season, but in this game, his performance was truly disaster-level. If the Rockets want to rank in the top half of the Western Conference, Shepard's performance will definitely need to improve.

It's just that the offense may improve, but the defense cannot be improved by improving. Shepard is really a big trouble for the Rockets.