It only took one game for Ron Holland to prove the hype is real

Look out for him to make a sophomore leap.
New York Knicks v Detroit Pistons
New York Knicks v Detroit Pistons | Mike Mulholland/GettyImages

The Pistons have a lot of excitement around the growth of their young players, but arguably the biggest buzz is around Ron Holland II. Holland had an incredible performance in Summer League that showed improvements from his rookie season, and now continues that momentum into preseason. Holland had one of the best Pistons performances in the preseason opener against the Grizzlies, and can work his way into a huge role on the team.

Ron Holland has improved in every way possible

As with Summer League, Holland showed a little bit of everything in his 16-minute preseason performance. His improvement immediately jumped out in every facet of the game, from defense to offensive finishing and even playmaking.

The most standout moment was hitting a deep spot-up three off a pass from Marcus Sasser. It wasn’t just that Holland nailed that three in the halfcourt, but also the fact that he called for the ball so confidently while being a step or too back of the 3-point line that has fans excited. Holland also shot a total of 3 threes in his minutes, although he only hit that one. Still, being willing to shoot at that rate shows that he has a lot more confidence in his jumper than last season.

Holland also had an incredible transition finish where he shed a defender before throwing down a dunk with two other defenders in the vicinity. His speed getting up the court was dazzling and his eurostep before going into the dunk teased star potential. The fastbreak opportunity also opened up after a simple miss from the Grizzlies and an outlet pass from Ausar Thompson, which fulfilled the rapid defense-to-offense promise made by the 9-to-5 connection.

An emerging aspect of Holland’s game which we didn’t see much last season is his playmaking. He had a beautiful interior dropoff pass for Isaiah Stewart off a drive which resulted in an and-one. Before making that pass, Holland attacked off the catch from the corner and created space with a shot fake. For a bench unit that doesn’t have a ton of proven playmaking, increased production in this area from Holland can help keep the reserve units alive on offense.

Ron Holland is ready to have a huge sophomore season this year. Still just 20 years old, he appears to have taken big leaps in every element of his game. His contributions across the board will be crucial to the Pistons’ growth as a team and he will find himself playing a lot of important minutes this season.