After starting each of the Pistons‘ first 20 games of the Season, sharpshooter Duncan Robinson sat out on Monday vs. Atlanta due to a right ankle sprain. As Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press relays (via Twitter), head coach J.B. Bickerstaff expressed confidence before the game that “other guys (would) step up” in Robinson’s absence, and reserve forward Ron Holland made good on his coach’s prediction.
Holland had 17 points, six rebounds, and a pair of steals in just over 17 minutes of action, playing a key role as the Pistons eked out a 99-98 victory over the Hawks.
“He was unbelievable,” Bickerstaff said, per Sankofa. “He was the spark for us. We struggled tonight. We did, we struggled tonight. I thought Ron gave us a ton of energy, a fire, the way he just competed. I thought he was phenomenal tonight.”
As Sankofa writes, Holland is among the players whose energy helps fuel a Pistons team that ranks among the league leaders in several hustle categories, including points off turnovers, deflections, loose balls recovered, and shots contested.
“Coming off the bench for me, it allows me to slow the game down and being able to watch where I can really shine and being able to see what guys’ tendencies are, and to go in and make an immediate impact,” Holland said. “I definitely love coming off the bench with this team because one, it’s gonna be nights like this where we start off kinda slow. That’s what the bench mob is for, we get in and bring that spark and the energy we need.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- After initially not responding to treatment like the team had hoped, Pistons guard Marcus Sasser‘s right hip injury is trending in the right direction, per Bickerstaff (Twitter link via Sankofa). Sasser remained out on Monday, but the reason cited was “return to competition conditioning” and he has been playing 3-on-3 scrimmages, so his season debut likely isn’t far off.
- After losing three straight games, the Cavaliers bounced back on Monday with a resounding 135-119 victory over Indiana. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required), star guard Donovan Mitchell delivered a pointed message to his teammates after Sunday’s loss in the hopes of getting the Cavs back on the right track. “This ain’t last year. I told you at the beginning of the year, they coming for us — as they should,” Mitchell said of his message. “They’re coming for (Evan Mobley‘s) Defensive Player of the Year. They’re coming for my first team All-NBA. They coming for Kenny (Atkinson)‘s Coach of the Year. They coming for all that. We’re not the underdogs, we’re the hunted. We need to go out there and continue to act like it.”
- Bulls guard Coby White will undergo imaging after missing Monday’s game due to some tightness in his left calf, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Big man Zach Collins, meanwhile, has been cleared for contact as he makes his way back from wrist surgery and the hope is that he’ll practice with Chicago’s G League team this week, Cowley notes. The banged-up Bulls lost another player in Monday’s loss to Orlando when wing Kevin Huerter exited after six minutes of action due to what the team referred to as an adductor injury. It’s unclear if Huerter will miss additional time as a result of that ailment.
- Ethan Thompson‘s new two-way deal with the Pacers covers two years, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Thompson won’t become eligible for free agency until the 2027 offseason if he plays out the full contract.
If Ron Holland keeps that attitude and stays healthy, he will have a 15+ year NBA career.
And if I was a team in need of some ball handling and shooting, I would be looking to get Sasser from Detroit as soon as he shows that he is healthy.
I am specifically thinking about Minnesota. I thought them trading up last year to get the 19 year old from Kentucky was a terrible idea coming off of a trip to the conference finals.
seems like Ivey would be the more likely to be moved given his diminished role.. and his contract might be a better fit to bring the Pistons back more size.
I don’t see them moving Ivey this season unless they make a big move for someone like Markennon.
But I don’t see a role for Sasser at all this year.
““Coming off the bench for me, it allows me to slow the game down and being able to watch where I can really shine and being able to see what guys’ tendencies are, and to go in and make an immediate impact,” Holland said.”
Off-topic, but this is one of the reasons why I’m not in favor of just blindly giving young players minutes and expecting them to develop properly from the get-go. Sometimes it’s better to give them focused minutes where they still see enough court time to develop but also can come in and focus on impacting the game in specific ways including executing all of the little things that drive winning. Then, once they would prove themselves enough, you hand them bigger and bigger responsibilities and minutes.
Of course, the Pistons are good enough now where they wouldn’t have done that anyway for the sake of winning. And this approach would not be necessary or work with every young player. But I think it’s sometimes an underutilized approach in this era of tanking.