A lot of people have said let me talk about Shepard, and it just so happens that Shepard has also played some highs and lows recently, so I can make a relatively objective assessment of Shepard's game.

In his summer league debut, Shepard played against the Lakers with Bronny, and it was also the most trafficked game. Also because of the performance of Brownie's crotch as a comparison, Shepard shot 9 of 17, 4 of 6 three-pointers, and scored 23 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks.

Shepard's consecutive three-pointers in the third were not the most impressive, and he could even hold the ball in a row, and the small throws after a one-handed breakthrough showed his excellent ball sense.

In the second game against the Wizards, Shepard played 32 minutes on 9-of-15 shooting and 8-of-10 two-pointers to finish with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 1 block. If Shepard showed strong shooting ability in the first game, then Shepard showed his defensive ability in this game.

His slicing ball highlights a quick and accurate attack, and his natural physical disadvantage also allows him to find the right way to defend outside of physical confrontation, and minimize his defensive weaknesses caused by poor physical fitness. This is somewhat similar to the Stockton of the past.

He didn't feel good about his three-point shooting in this game, but he also further showed his ability to shoot in the middle, and he handled the ball very calmly after blocking and dismantling, throwing when he should shoot, and the ball he passed was absolutely unambiguous, showing his excellent ball intelligence and overall vision.

That was the case with the two well-played games, with Shepard also playing his worst game since the start of the summer league yesterday. In the loss to the Pistons, Shepard shot only 6 of 17 from the field, 0 of 2 from three-point range, and got 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 4 turnovers.

The second game showed Shepard's accurate cutting ability, and in the third game, although Shepard still had 3 steals, he also paid 6 fouls, that is, 10 fouls in the summer league, otherwise he would have been full of fouls. When he was heavily marked by his opponent, Shepard's touch was lost.

Shepard still needs to rely on some fouls to make up for defensive weaknesses at this stage, which is also something that cannot be helped. Shepard's barefoot height of 187, combined with a slightly thin body, puts him at a disadvantage against most players in the league.

The games were also back-to-back, and Shepard's poor form also proved that he still needs to adapt to the intensity of the game at the NBA level. In general, Shepard is definitely better than bad, at least I think Shepard, a player who plays with his brain, is definitely not too bad.

Shepard's growth environment determines that his ability to "hide" in the game will not be too bad, otherwise he will definitely not grow up at this stage. His athleticism couldn't get any better, so he lacked the ability to tear up the defense as much.

But he was able to take advantage of fleeting opportunities after blocking and make up for his lack of breaking speed with quick passes. His decisions after the pick-and-roll were not dragged down at all, and his good playing habits made it easy for him to make sound decisions.

Shepard has excellent high-end stats in college, with a good steal and block percentage, which is better than some defensive giants. He averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 53.6 percent from the field, 52.1 percent from three-point range and 69.9 percent from the field.

Shepard's stats in his rookie season will certainly be a little smaller than that of college, but it certainly won't be the stunned young character that everyone remembers. In the minds of many people, Shepard's probability of winning the best rookie has been raised a lot.

Shepard should start off the Rockets' bench in the new season, a role he's been familiar with since college. The negative effects of Shepard's physical disadvantage will also be mitigated by his substitution.

Van Vleet's role should be replaced by Shepard in the future. I have to say that the Rockets have a long-term management vision, and the final year of VanVleet's three-year contract is a team option, which can end early next summer to pave the way for Shepard.

I've already fallen in love with this Kentucky guy anyway, a guy who plays smart, who doesn't?