Durant alone! Shepard s battles have increased dramatically, Uduka calls for praise, and the Rockets compete for the first time

Van Jordan fell and a torn cruciate ligament was reimbursed for one year. But the Rockets' morale is still high, and the team united in the training camp. Because they also have Shepard, this 24-year-old Tanhualang. He did perform very well last season, especially when he was a substitute, he was not confident on the court, his shooting was timid, and his defensive end was the target of everyone. Uduka had no choice but to delegate Xiao Xie to the Development Alliance, but in the end she changed to the weak spots, and Shepard directly fulfilled Curry's talent.

This also shows that what affects Shepard's growth is strength and confrontation. His lower limit ability is actually very strong, especially when Shepard hits 52% from three-point shooting in college. His technical characteristics are already very mature, and he is not the kind of player who needs long-term development. So Shepard's targeted training is very wise. He said that he spent all his offseason practicing strength and confrontation in the gym, and he didn't even practice skills, and this kind of hard practice has received good rewards.

In today's training camp, Shepard singled Durant with the ball. Under the cover of KD's height of 2.11 meters and long arms, Xiao Xie forced into the inside and threw it into the basket with a difficult hook against Durant's defense. This ball is very similar to Curry's skill, using high throws to avoid interference from big men. This goal also showed Shepard's physical fitness, after all, his own hardware capabilities must be above Curry. Shepard has the strongest bounce ability in 24 years.

As a white defender, if Shepard did not achieve high enough talent in physical hardware, he would not be able to pass the 10th pick and enter the third place. As Uduka said, Shepard has indeed improved terrifyingly in confrontation and has become a muscle man. Even Capela said that Shepard was completely different from last season. Kahuang believes that Shepard's three-pointers from the outside are already quite amazing, and now his confrontation and size are completely renewed.

Uduka also personally admitted that as the confrontation rose, he and Van Jordan already had similarities.

Uduka said: "Shepard has made great progress in his physical condition. He is the most active player in the training camp defense this time. Yes, I think Shepard can fill Van Vreet's work, and the two of them have similarities. For the first time, I think Shepard can make up for our shortcomings in the new season. I think this kid is ready, and the new season is his moment. We will continue to help him, and in terms of time, he will definitely get more."

It is worth mentioning that the US media "Sleeper.nba" also posted a piece of Shepard's data on social media. He started in 3 games, averaged 20 points and 5 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 49%, and 52% of three-pointers. If this sample is not enough, then look at his other data, that is, when Shepard plays for more than 25 minutes, he averages 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of up to 47.1%. "Sleeper.nba" believes that Shepard needs to start, and he is not worse than Van Jordan when he is confident, not to mention that he is 1.91 meters tall.

The Rockets' start is not decided at present, only Amen, Durant and Shin Kyung have confirmed it. Smith and Ethan are still competing for the starting third position. Uduka said that whoever performs better will start, and training camp and preseason are observation periods. There may be only one factor affecting Shepard's starting lineup, which is that Uduka said it will use the five major lineups of Adams and Shinkin, Smith, Durant and Amen at certain specific moments. But the current lineup should not be a regular starter. The Rockets can replace Van Jordan but don’t find it strange, it is indeed Shepard. Maybe the Rockets will let Amen play point guard and Shepard plays the ball, and the two hold the balls on each other, and Shepard plays the main goal to open up the space and score.