The Los Angeles Lakers have willingly looked at the Houston Rockets and dared them to win Game 1 and Game 2 from the perimeter. Naturally, the Rockets have not taken either of those opportunities. In an effort to position themselves better for that, Houston will be creating another opening for the Los Angeles to exploit in Game 3.
Through two games, the Rockets have shot 18-of-62 from beyond the arc. For those counting at home, that is a shooting percentage of 29 percent on the long ball. Yikes.
Houston does have a member of their bench who may be able to help in that department — Reed Sheppard. The Rockets guard shot 39.4 percent from deep in the 2025-26 regular season. After playing only 11 minutes in Game 2, Ime Udoka was asked if Sheppard's minutes would stay around that range in Game 3, the head coach had a clear response.
"No, definitely up from that," Udoka told reporters.
That sound you just heard was JJ Redick's ears perking up over in his Houston hotel room.
Rockets' risky Reed Sheppard gamble could set up the Lakers perfectly
Sheppard had a productive regular season with the Rockets in his sophomore campaign. The former Kentucky guard averaged 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in stepping up following the offseason injury to Fred VanVleet.
If there is a clear weakness for him, it is the defensive side of the basketball. Having Sheppard on the court gives the Lakers a clear player to hunt in switches to create an offensive mismatch for themselves.
Just imagine, LeBron James is on the ball, steering traffic, and inviting the pick-and-roll with Sheppard's man so he can get the undersized guard on the switch. That sure does sound like advantage James from there. Either the Rockets are selling out to stop LeBron, conceding the 4-on-3 to the rest of the Lakers, or the star forward can go get those points himself.
Los Angeles happily dared anyone but Kevin Durant to beat them in Game 2, especially by the time the game went into the second half. That strategy worked out nicely for the Lakers.
Having Sheppard play more minutes could be viewed as a direct answer to that type of coverage. If the ball swings around to the Rockets guard while he's open from 3-point land, there is a good chance it will find the bottom of the bucket.
The problem is the Rockets defense has been largely helping them keep pace with the Lakers thus far. There is a clear trade-off here for Houston and it is far from guaranteed to go in their favor.
Down 2-0 will force any team to study the film closely and ask themselves what adjustments can be made. More Sheppard could invite more offense for the Rockets. However, that added playing time can just as easily lead to an avalanche of Lakers scoring as well.
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