The Jaden Ivey injury will have a ripple effect on the Detroit Pistons' starting lineup as well as the bench and Ron Holland II will have to step up while the Pistons wait for Ivey to return again.
Ivey's short-term replacement in the starting five will be Duncan Robinson, and the Pistons hopefully won't lose too much in the exchange, as Robinson has some skills in the half court that should help Detroit overcome some of the explosive open court buckets they lost with Ivey out.
But putting Duncan Robinson in the starting five has a knock on effect on the Pistons' bench, which is now left with scant shooting but the potential to be disruptive defensively. The Pistons have to embrace a next man up mentality, and with Robinson moving to the first five, Ron Holland II will need to step up from the bench.
Ron Holland just landed a bigger role for the Detroit Pistons
Holland II was already slated to be a part of the rotation, but will now likely see more minutes off the bench, as the Pistons no longer have the luxury of bringing him along slowly.
Holland looks ready to shoulder a bigger burden, as he shot the ball better in Summer League and preseason, was aggressive attacking the hoops off closeouts and was disruptive defensively, showing he can defend up after packing on 15 pounds of muscle.
Because of his age and relative inexperience, we don't talk about Holland much in terms of the next Pistons' young player to make a leap, but he could thrive in a bigger role. Holland only played around 15 miutes per game last season, but we could see that bumped up considerably over the next month as the Pistons try to weather Ivey's absence.
You know Holland is reacy to embrace this role and it isn't one he'll likely want to give back, so I think we're going to see him come out with focus and intensity right away. If the Pistons' offense is humming with Duncan Robinson and Holland is playing well off the bench, it may force Detroit to ask some serious questions about Jaden Ivey's future with the team.
You hate to see opportunity created by injury, but Holland has the chance to expand his role and minutes, and if he makes a significant second-year leap, the Pistons may have to re-calibrate their plans.