Will starting Reed Sheppard over Tari Eason fix Houston’s offense?

In the 2025 portion of the 2025-26 season, the Rockets ranked fifth in the NBA at 120.5 points per game. Houston went 20-10 (.667) in that sample, good for a 55-win pace over a full season.

But in calendar-year 2026, Houston is second-to-last (No. 29 among 30 teams) at 108.9 points per game. The Rockets are just 22-17 (.564) in that sample, which equates to a 46-win pace.

To say the least, the 117 points that Houston scored in Friday’s blowout victory over Atlanta — while shooting 50.6% overall and 46.7% on 3-pointers — was much closer to the 2025 formula. The Hawks (38-32) entered as the league’s hottest team, having won 11 straight games.

So, what changed? Certainly, there were strong statistical showings across the board (box score). But there was one new wrinkle at the outset.

After a prolonged slump, Tari Eason was moved to a bench role, while second-year guard Reed Sheppard started in his place. The change seemed to pay immediate dividends.

“It’s just another threat outside the 3-point line,” said All-Star forward Kevin Durant.

“All the great basketball teams have multiple guys that can create for themselves and others,” Durant continued. “In our starting five, I feel like we’ve got five guys that can put the ball on the floor and make a play, or knock down the shot. So, we’ve got to utilize that.”

“Tonight was one of those nights where you could see it. We had 33 assists, just because we’ve got multiple guys that can dribble and handle and make plays, and we’re going to need that moving forward.”

Looking ahead, it’s worth remembering that Houston’s 2025 formula involved elite offensive rebounding from veteran center Steven Adams, who is now lost for the season with an ankle injury. So, recapturing that prior form won’t be easy.

Then again, perhaps the recent “jump” from Sheppard can provide a different formula. In his last 19 games, the Kentucky product is averaging 15.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 30.1 minutes, all while shooting 40.9% from 3-point range.

Houston is 9-2 when Sheppard starts this season.

“Obviously, Reed has taken a nice step and jump, lately,” said head coach Ime Udoka. “But we wanted to have more spacers out there, some shooting, and have different guys that can handle (the basketball) and do some different things.”

“Tari is struggling, obviously, but it’s not necessarily (about) that, as much. He’s still doing the things we want him to do defensively. But we’ll put him back in his role off the bench, let him relax a little bit, and take a look at Reed.”

While certainly not the only factor, it’s worth noting that Eason didn’t become a consistent starter until the final week of December, and that largely coincides with when the offensive downturn began for the Rockets as a team.

Reed Sheppard will start tonight for the #Rockets against the Hawks@SportsVanessa tells us why Ime Udoka made the change

Join us now on SCHN & SCHN+@HoustonRockets I #AllFire pic.twitter.com/8Z0pgo2ohT

— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) March 21, 2026

As for the present, Friday’s win moved the Rockets (42-27) back into the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference standings, which would put Houston in line to have home-court advantage in at least the first round of the playoffs.

That could be crucial, as the Rockets are 24-10 at home and only 18-17 on the road.

But the margins are extremely thin, as the fifth-seeded Denver Nuggets (43-28) are only one game back in the loss column while holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. So, any advantage the Rockets can potentially find over their final 13 regular-season games is critical.

Speaking late Friday, Udoka did not commit to his latest starting lineup being permanent. However, the Rockets will clearly give it a real opportunity.

“We’ll give it a great look,” Udoka said of his latest lineup configuration featuring Sheppard, Durant, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun.

“How many games do we have left, 13? We’ll give it five, six, seven, eight (games), whatever, and then determine what we want to do going into the playoffs.”

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