Holland vs. Sheppard is a marquee matchup in Summer League
For those looking for the best matchup in this year’s Summer League, your eyes might want to shift over to Cox Pavillion as the Detroit Pistons and Ron Holland take on the Houston Rockets and Reed Sheppard.
Ron Holland balled out in his first Summer League game for the Pistons, scoring 28 points and hitting four of his five 3-point attempts. He also brought his patented motor and defensive intensity. Adding shooting to that? Look out.
Sheppard, meanwhile, didn’t get much run with the NBA club in Year 1, but any time he sees the floor, you understand why the Rockets drafted him in the top five a year ago. Sheppard also scored 28 points in his first game with the Rockets, but it was a bit less impressive than Holland’s showing.
Shep hit six 3-pointers, but was just 10-of-25 overall from the floor, but he did add four steals and eight rebounds. Holland had three steals himself, and also had 13 trips to the charity stripe.
It should be a fun one — assuming both these breakouts still play.
Game Vitals
When: 4 p.m. ET
Where: Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nevada
Watch: ESPN2, ESPN+
Analysis
I’m curious what others thoughts are regarding the players who suited up for Detroit’s first preseason game. Obviously, Holland showed you absolutely everything you’d hope to see from him. I thought Dannis Jenkins played exactly like a AAAA basketball player should — hit shots, played smart, still not sure there is any pathway to the NBA for his size and skillset.
Bobi Klintman showed some intriguing potential, but you’d hope he was a bit more forceful in making a different on the floor — and eliminating some of the mistakes. Rookie second-round pick Chaz Lanier was mostly bad, and for someone with such a rep as a shooter, I was a bit concerned about how low and slow his release was on his shots. He hit some eventually, so here is hoping it was just nerves. Tolu Smith, Detroit’s two-way player along with Jenkins, just looks too slow and too ground bound to be anything more than a Motor City Cruise mainstay.