The NBA announced the lineups for this year’s Rising Stars challenge, and once again Ron Holland II of the Detroit Pistons didn’t make the cut.
Holland II is averaging 8.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game playing around 20 minutes for the best team in the Eastern Conference.
His counting stats aren’t going to jump out at you, especially since they come on poor shooting splits, but anyone who has actually watched the Pistons knows he is a key part of their defense and an energizer who often changes games from the bench.
Holland is near the top of the league in bench steals and overall steals per 100 possessions, so even though his offensive stats aren’t going to blow anyone away, he’s an important player on a very good team with aspirations of a deep playoff run.
That last part can’t be said for most of the players who made the Rising Stars challenge, many of whom are on bad teams, playing big minutes and have chances to get up plenty of shots.
Ron Holland II being penalized for the Pistons’ success
Anyone who reads my work regularly or follows us on Twitter (X) knows that I am an unabashed fan of Ron Holland II, even though he sometimes does things that make me shake my head.
He plays with non-stop energy and motor, has no fear and is a ruthless defender who disrupts everything around him. His 3-point shot hasn’t come around yet, and he’s an inconsistent finisher at the rim, but Holland is a difference maker who every good team would love to have.
I am also certain that if Holland were playing on a bad team, say the Wizards, Pelicans or Bulls, he’d not only be playing a lot more but getting more chances to score, which is all the voters seem to care about, since Holland is a better defender than just about everyone else who made the team.
This is no shade to those players, as they didn’t get to choose their situations. Most years, the top draft picks go to bad teams (which is the whole idea of the lottery) where they are afforded opportunities that young players on good teams aren’t going to get.
The Pistons are trying to win a title, and if Holland wasn’t contributing, he wouldn’t be in there, so even though he’s not putting up the numbers some of these other players are, he’s playing meaningful minutes on a good team and he had to earn them.
I’ve had some readers tell me they are down on Holland because of his shooting, but keep all of this context in mind, as the Pistons are not asking him to do too much right now and these high-stakes reps will be huge for him down the road.
Holland will get playoff experience that a lot of these guys won’t be getting, so in the end, this will be great for his development, and there is no hurry, as he’s still not old enough to buy a beer.
It’s a shame the league isn’t recognizing an exciting young player doing important things on a good team, but I’m sure Holland will only use it as further motivation as his team heads for the playoffs.