{"id":90753,"date":"2024-08-15T19:01:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-15T23:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=90753"},"modified":"2024-08-15T19:01:58","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T23:01:58","slug":"pistons-ron-holland-reveals-aspirations-for-rookie-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/15\/pistons-ron-holland-reveals-aspirations-for-rookie-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons\u2019 Ron Holland Reveals Aspirations For Rookie Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Detroit Pistons rookie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hollaro01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ron Holland<\/a> has major aspirations for his rookie season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to win Rookie of the Year, <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.freep.com\/restricted?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.freep.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnba%2Fpistons%2F2024%2F08%2F15%2Fron-holland-pistons-nba%2F74803015007%2F&amp;gps-source=CPROADBLOCKDH&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gnt-eid=control\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">but my work ethic<\/a> is going to produce like I\u2019m trying to get it,\u201d Holland tells the Detroit Free Press\u2019s Omari Sankofa II (subscription required).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI\u2019m going to do it to the best of my ability and whatever I need to work on, just sit back and learn and listen to my vets&#8230;\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWhatever coach (J.B.) Bickerstaff and everybody else on the coaching staff needs me to do, I\u2019m there to do it\u2026,\u201d the 19-year-old continues. \u201c\u2026Defend, make shots, get people shots, whatever it is I\u2019m willing and able to do it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Pistons\u2019 Ron Holland Reveals Aspirations For Rookie Season<\/h2>\n<p>Even without taking into account his status as a top-five pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Holland is among the best players in his class.<\/p>\n<p>At 6-foot-8 and 200-plus pounds, the Texan is a springy combo forward with an elite motor. Those physical tools enhance his impact on the defensive end, where he\u2019s an instinctive game-changer. At the more glamorous end, he\u2019s demonstrated scoring and playmaking upside.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Best of Ron Holland: 2024 NBA Summer League Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zToskfc9D74?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>However, Holland\u2019s most obvious weakness \u2014a wonky outside jumper \u2014could undermine his offensive potential. That\u2019s why his \u201cmain (offseason) focus has been a lot of catch and shoot, a lot of movement shots\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, he\u2019s also honing his strengths, \u201cattacking off the dribble and moving without the ball, and a lot on defense.\u201d These are traits that have led his being compared to Boston Celtics wing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownja02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaylen Brown<\/a>. Brown, fresh of a career year, was named an All-Star, the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/18\/celtics-pillar-jaylen-brown-bestowed-fmvp-honor-nba-finals-victory\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">the NBA Finals MVP<\/a> in the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI\u2019m really keying in on defense because I know that\u2019s one thing that will keep me on the floor this year.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Nobody is projecting Holland to accomplish all of that next season or in one season. Nonetheless, it\u2019s great company for Holland to mentioned in.<\/p>\n<h3>Who Are The Pistons Starters?<\/h3>\n<p>Two months ahead of the 2024-25 regular season opener, Detroit\u2019s starting lineup <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/25\/detroit-pistons-depth-chart-starters-and-rotations-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">is still unknown<\/a>. With so many new and young players, this will likely be sorted out in training camp and the preseason. However, it\u2019s safe to assume that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cunnica01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cade Cunningham<\/a> \u2014the face of the franchise \u2014will be the starting point guard. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harrito02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tobias Harris<\/a> \u2014who signed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/05\/tobias-harris-free-agent-signing-impact-on-the-pistons-explored\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">a two-year, $52 million contract<\/a> with the Pistons this offseason \u2014will likely start at one of the forward spots. From there, Bickerstaff and his coaching staff will have to find the best combination of talent, fit, and experience.<\/p>\n<p>Hypothetically speaking, say that Holland was inserted into the starting lineup alongside Cunningham and Harris. Knowing that Cunningham needs a backcourt mate who can thrive off-ball, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/beaslma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Malik Beasley<\/a> could start as well. Beasley isn\u2019t quite elite as a 3-and-D role player (his journeyman status attests to that), but he\u2019s certainly solid.<\/p>\n<h3>Jalen Duren vs. Isaiah Stewart<\/h3>\n<p>That then leaves the question of whether <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/durenja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Duren<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stewais01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Stewart<\/a> starts at center. Duren\u2019s rebounding prowess is hard to ignore, especially on a team that could both miss and force a lot of missed shots. However, Stewart allows them to run a five-out offense and has played better defense than Duren.<\/p>\n<p>All of that being said, if Duren comes off the bench, it would be with 2023 No. 5 pick <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompau01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ausar Thompson<\/a>. Unless Thompson has taken major strides as a jump shooter this offseason, this isn\u2019t ideal. Last season, Thompson and Duren found themselves frequently occupying the dunker\u2019s spot, stepping on each other\u2019s toes. That makes it more feasible for Duren to start and Stewart to come off the bench.<\/p>\n<p>Duren needs to improve his defensive awareness, primarily off-ball. Furthermore, he\u2019s too athletic to not be a better shot-blocker. Nonetheless, player development was presumably <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/30\/pistons-hire-monty-williams-head-coach-replacement\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">one of the reasons<\/a> that Bickerstaff was hired. Looking at the way <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/allenja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jarrett Allen<\/a> thrived under him with the Cavs, there\u2019s reason to believe that the best of Duren has yet to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Detroit Pistons rookie Ron Holland has major aspirations for his rookie season. \u201cI want to win Rookie of the Year, but my work ethic is going to produce like I\u2019m trying to get it,\u201d Holland tells the Detroit Free Press\u2019s Omari Sankofa II (subscription required). \u201cI\u2019m going to do it to the best of my [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":90768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1608,62,3],"tags":[1143,98,49172],"class_list":["post-90753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pistons","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-nba-awards","tag-nba-draft","tag-ron-holland"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}