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Lakers coach JJ Redick praises Houston’s Cam Whitmore, Reed Sheppard
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- Lakers coach JJ Redick praises Houston’s Cam Whitmore, Reed Sheppard
With seven of their top eight rotation players resting due to their playoff seed being secure , the Houston Rockets didn't get the win in Friday's road game against the Los Angeles Lakers .
However, two of the team's sparingly used young prospects did take advantage of the suddenly open minutes to make a positive impression.
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In 37 minutes, second-year guard/forward Cam Whitmore finished with a career-high 34 points and 8 rebounds on 13-of-19 shooting (68.4%), including 7-of-12 from 3-point range (58.3%).
Meanwhile, rookie guard Reed Sheppard added 14 points and 5 rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting from behind the 3-point arc (50.0%).
In comments on game night, Lakers head coach JJ Redick praised both of the 20-year-old prospects, noting that they would be rotation players or starters on many other teams throughout the NBA. The Rockets (52-29) are simply an exception due to their depth.
Among Redick's comments ( via Dave Hardisty, ClutchFans ):
Both those guys would be rotation players on nearly every team, and potential starters on a lot of teams. Both really good players.
Sheppard and Whitmore could get at least one more opportunity for rotation minutes when the Rockets end their 2024-25 regular season on Sunday afternoon versus Denver . Tipoff from Houston's Toyota Center is at 2:30 p.m. Central, and the outcome is irrelevant to the Rockets. Thus, developmental reps could be a priority.
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While Sheppard and Whitmore are unlikely to feature often in the upcoming 2025 NBA playoffs, they could earn increasingly prominent roles in the 2025-26 season and future years.
More: In loss to Lakers, Cam Whitmore fuels short-handed Rockets with career night
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Lakers coach JJ Redick praises Houston's Cam Whitmore, Reed Sheppard
