Ron Holland quietly becoming exactly what the Pistons need

Ron Holland II has quietly improved his 3-point shooting recently, and in the process, answered one of the biggest questions the Detroit Pistons had about their playoff rotation. 

Holland has only shot 25 percent from long range on the season, which had some wondering if his shooting would potentially keep him out of the playoff rotation. 

Holland’s impact on defense has never been in doubt, but his offensive limitations in the half court were concerning, as you don’t want anyone on your team in the playoffs who the other team doesn’t have to guard. 

To Holland’s credit, he kept at it, and that work is starting to pay off, as he has shot over 50 percent from long range in April and 40 percent over his last 15 games. 

It’s a relatively small sample size, but if Holland even shoots at league average, it will be a huge boost to the Pistons. 

Credit is due to JB Bickerstaff and Ron Holland 

Shout out to coach JB Bickerstaff, who should win Coach of the Year this season, though voters will probably find a way to undersell what he’s done, which is take a 14-win team to 60 wins in two seasons, which has never been done before. But sure, give it to Joe Mazzulla, whose team won a title two years ago. He just had the one MVP candidate to lean on for most of the season, poor guy. But I digress. 

One of the many things coach Bickerstaff has done well this season is how he has handled Holland. JB never got down on him and kept telling him to take the open shots when they are there, which Holland does. 

Coach Bickerstaff knows that Holland does so many other things well that his shot wasn’t going to kill the team, but that confidence he showed in him has paid off and been infectious. 

Holland is not afraid to take shots, and you can tell he thinks they are going in, confidence that comes directly from his coach leaving him in there to take his lumps and improve through putting in the work, which Holland has done. 

Holland can be the playoff X-Factor 

As we saw against the Hornets, Holland has the ability to change the game quickly. He came in and put up 10 points in three minutes and changed the momentum of the game. 

This is something the Pistons bench has done for most of the season, forcing the other team to burn timeouts when Holland et al. come in and make the game chaotic. 

He’s the type of player who can flip a playoff game in a couple of minutes, and if he keeps hitting 3-pointers, coach Bickerstaff will have no reason to keep him off the floor. 

Holland still has to prove he can do this over an extended period, but he’s getting hot at the right time and is giving fans a glimpse of a very bright future.