With the news of the potentially season-ending ACL injury that Fred VanVleet sustained last week, the Houston Rockets' offensive rejuvenation will now depend heavily on the abilities of Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to take over starting point guard responsibilities.
Yet, according to Bill Simmon, the defensive liabilities in Sheppard's game could mean that he is not ready to take on such a hefty role, and the potential implications for his play in the playoffs could sink the Rockets' title hopes entirely.
While Sheppard is just entering his second year, and should thus be given time to develop into the player the organization thinks he can be, his timeline has now been accelerated by Houston's lack of backcourt depth.