Sports

Rockets fans done with Reed Sheppard after one game after waiving off Kevin Durant multiple times

3 3 minutes read
Rockets fans done with Reed Sheppard after one game after.jpeg
Rockets fans done with Reed Sheppard after one game after.jpeg

The Houston Rockets entered the season with high hopes. The addition of Kevin Durant to the mix has propelled them into championship contention, but their first game of the season was a major challenge.

They went on the road to face the defending champions, and while they were in control for most of the game, they ultimately lost in double overtime.

With that in mind, fans took to social media to call out Reed Sheppard, who appeared to give up on Durant several times but didn’t do much with the shots he took.

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Maybe we’re old and Reid is so young that he has no idea who KD is.

Here are some optional reactions:

“I’m sick, he’s looking at kd as a last resort,” one fan said.

@PeeWeeDaPlug Nigga hears KD and thinks about Kash doll what was he thinking 😭🤦🏾‍♂️

@PeeWeeDaPlug Maybe he’s young…or maybe he just skipped NBA history class 😭

But others gave him a pass:

@PeeWeeDaPlug Yall acts like a top 3 player and is a goalkeeper, he should be looking to pass first, how about putting him in the starting lineup so he can learn something instead of barely playing with him.

@PeeWeeDaPlug Or maybe it was KD shaving the points and not trying to get the ball

@PeeWeeDaPlug In all honesty.. Lu Dort was at KD Grill all day 4 and overtime. KD looked like he was going for the ball as well.

However, Kevin Durant doesn’t feel like he has to take every shot. If anything, he completely trusts everyone around him to make plays:

“The team closes out the game. We play as a team. I’m not expected to make every big shot in every close game,” Durant said after the game. “My presence there can relieve everyone’s tension and we can play some games. We all have to be ready for that.”

Sheppard had a subpar game off the bench, scoring just nine points on eleven shots to go along with two boards, four assists and two three-pointers on seven attempts.

Kevin Durant takes the blame for the loss

Kevin Durant’s debut has also been a bit uneven by his standards. He scored 23 points on 16 shots and added nine rebounds and three assists. He also missed all of his three pointers and went five-for-six from the line. However, the free throw he missed may have been the reason for their loss.

“I missed the free throw and fouled Shay at the end to put them in,” Durant said (per Talkbasket.net). “I think those two plays are why we lost.”

Durant is a veteran who’s been there and done that, so he knows he has to avoid these types of mental mistakes.

“I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to knock down that free throw. I’ve got to stay in front and be more disciplined,” Durant added. “Those opportunities to get a match point, they don’t come often. I have to take advantage of them more.”

However, at the end of the day, the OKC Thunder remain the defending champions for a reason, yet they pushed them into double overtime and lost by one point. This is an encouraging sign for a new team that doesn’t even have a true point guard on the roster.