Ausar Thompson has dominated the Cavaliers defensively, but still has one noticeable weakness in his defense: a tendency to foul against experienced ball-handlers. In Game 2, the Pistons found a simple solution to this problem when Ron Holland II came into the game and filled in for Thompson’s role after some foul trouble. Holland has made the most of his minutes in the series so far and his defensive impact has been the biggest driving factor.
Holland gives Thompson a security blanket
Of course, Holland can’t match Thompson's impact entirely; after all, Ausar Thompson might be the best perimeter defender in the entire NBA. But Holland can certainly give the Pistons a good approximation when Thompson is on the bench. Like Thompson, he can be a lockdown defender at the point of attack or incredibly disruptive as a help defender.
Holland has also found a good way to synergize with the Pistons’ better shooting wings with his slashing and transition play. When he’s left open, Holland even has the confidence to shoot threes himself and make them on occasion. Even when he doesn’t hit outside shots, Holland’s decisiveness on offense can lead to positive results.
Between Thompson and Holland, the Pistons can get nearly 48 minutes of extremely high-level wing defense. These lockdown efforts have gone a long way towards establishing early leads against the Cavaliers. If the “9-to-5” wings can defend well enough to gain an advantage, they know that Cade Cunningham can come alive in the fourth to put the game away.
Getting good minutes from Holland is game-changing
In the first round, Holland barely played because he was a bad matchup against Orlando’s high-octane defense and bigger ball-handlers. But he’s getting a chance to shine against the Cavaliers’ smaller guards - Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. Holland has the right quickness and length to bother those players, and his additional depth as a wing defender could be important against their foul-drawing tactics.
Being able to play Holland more minutes gives coach JB Bickerstaff another option to disrupt the opponent’s offense and potentially lean entirely into defense. On occasion, we may even see him share the court with Ausar Thompson in this series. While that duo could cramp their own offense, they’re also capable of blowing up Cleveland’s gameplan and forcing turnovers leading to easy baskets.
Giving Holland some run in the second round as a key defender should also pay dividends in later rounds. The Knicks are also two wins away from the Eastern Conference Finals, and we all remember how Jalen Brunson frustrated Thompson with his foul-drawing last year. If the Pistons run into the same issue this time around, they can rest assured that Ron Holland is on the bench waiting.
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