Reed Sheppard Has Been the Rockets Iron Man This Season

The Houston Rockets have faced many ups and downs this season. They began with a tough road loss to the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, they quickly bounced back, turning that setback into a 13-4 start.

The Rockets hit a scheduled roadblock in December. Their early slate of easier games gave way to a much tougher stretch. As a result, the Rockets' offense came crashing to earth. Since then, they have mostly been a .500 team. They have not had any sustained winning or losing streaks—just inconsistent play.

The up-and-down play has been a major issue, but injuries have been a bigger issue. Before the season even started, the Rockets were dealt a major blow to their championship aspirations with the news that VanVleet suffered a major injury that would have him missing most, if not all, of the season.

The Rockets also dealt with another injury at the start of the season, this time to Dorian Finney-Smith. Rafael Stone stated that as soon as Dillon Brooks was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the Kevin Durant deal, he wanted to find his replacement asap. Finney-Smith was the player the Rockets targeted and the first free agent they signed.

The Rockets were leaning towards starting Finney-Smith to fill the open spot left by Brooks, but Finney-Smith, who was still recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the offseason, wasn't ready to play at the start of the season and wouldn't make his debut until Christmas Night.

That wasn't the end of the Rockets' injury issues, as Steven Adams, the Rockets' best rebounder and screen setter, also suffered a season-ending injury, leaving a major hole in one of the Rockets' biggest advantages: rebounding.

The Rockets have also dealt with injuries to Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason, keeping them out for multiple games. Over the last few seasons, Jalen Green has been the Rockets' iron man, playing 186 straight games. This season, there has been only one player who has played every single game, this season and that is Reed Sheppard.

Reed Sheppard Has Been the Most Consistent Rocket When It Comes to Availability

Last season, Sheppard was the Rockets' fourth overall pick and seen as the player who could help the Rockets with their below-average 3-point shooting.

Sheppard, however, had a hard time getting on the court, as it was a combination of being drafted to a team that was 41-41 the season before and not rebuilding, and also of Sheppard struggling when he did see the court. That led to him spending time in the G League, and even when he was with the Rockets, he didn't see the floor in some games.

This season has been different in both Sheppard's contributions on the court and his playing time. Sheppard's minutes have gone up from 12.6 to 26 minutes, and has already played 15 more games than last season.

Sheppard is the only player to have played in every game this season for the Rockets and has taken full advantage of his increased playing time, going from 4.4 points per game last season to 13.4 points per game this season.

The number one ability for any player is availability, and Sheppard has been the most reliable player on the Rockets in that regard. Reed Sheppard and the Rockets are back in action as they look to take the season series from the Los Angeles Lakers in their final regular season matchup of the season.