No Detroit Pistons player came into the season under more pressure than Ron Holland II, who is trying to prove he can be more than a defensive disruptor.
Even though he’s still very young, Holland needs to show offensive improvement in his third season, or he will certainly be a trade candidate at the deadline or possibly before next season.
I am a huge Holland fan, so am cheering for him, but so far, the results have been mixed, as he has still looked clueless offensively at times, especially with the ball in his hands.
But the process has been there from behind the 3-point line, as Holland has mostly taken good shots that were in the rhythm of the offense. They are finally starting to fall, which is exactly what the Pistons want to see.
Ron Holland starting to knock down 3-pointers
We can’t get too excited about such a small sample size, especially when Holland is still shooting under 30 percent from long range on the season.
But over the last three games, Holland has hit over 41 percent of them and has taken four attempts per game, which would be the highest of his career.
Holland knocked down three more last night against the hapless Hornets and has now averaged 10 points, three rebounds and 1.3 steals per game over his last three.
I’ve said a million times that Holland doesn’t need to be prime Klay Thompson from long range, but if he can get close to league average, it makes the Pistons a different team, as defenses rarely even guard him.
If they have to start stepping out on Holland as well, it just opens up the Pistons’ offense even more and makes Holland a far more valuable player.
Obviously, the big disclaimer here is that it’s still very early, it’s a tiny sample size, and we’ve seen Holland go on hot streaks from behind the arc before, only to fall back to earth.
All he can do, as cliche as it sounds, is to trust the process, keep taking open shots in rhythm when they are there, and not try to do too much when they aren’t.
Any points the Pistons get from Holland are gravy, as he does impact the game in a number of ways, but if he can average closer to double digits this season while not being a liability on offense, the Pistons will have to think twice about including him in any trade-deadline deal.
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