Ron Holland II didn’t need a big scoring night to matter for the Pistons.
Detroit handled business on the road against the 76ers despite being down two starters and losing backup Isaiah Joe after he’d been on the floor for four minutes. Even with the lineup shuffling, the Pistons kept rolling, with Daniss Jenkins and Paul Reed stepping into starting roles and Holland helping absorb some of the pressure off the bench.
The shot wasn’t there for Holland. He missed seven straight before finally getting one to go on a contested finish late, and he went 0-for-3 from deep. The looks were solid, though, and each one seemed close to dropping.
What Holland did bring was the kind of edge Detroit needed with Ausar Thompson out because of an ankle injury. He took on the role of the Pistons’ top point-of-attack defender and spent time on the other team’s best player.
At one point that meant Jaylen Brown, and Holland made life miserable for him. Brown finished 5-of-20, with plenty of those misses coming while Holland was crowding him.
Holland also helped make up for the absence of Jalen Duren by crashing the glass. He finished with nine rebounds, part of a decisive edge on the boards that played a big part in the win.
And he chipped in as a passer, too, collecting four assists. A couple came on sharp kickouts in transition, and another came after he drove into traffic and found a wall of defenders waiting for him. His choices with the ball looked cleaner, and that’s something Detroit needs to keep seeing.
That said, Holland still gives the Pistons the full package, for better and worse. One sequence summed it up: a strong defensive stop, a burst into the open floor, and then a missed dunk attempt that turned into an easy basket the other way.
That’s the tradeoff with Holland right now. The scoring will come eventually. Until then, Detroit can live with the misses if he keeps defending, rebounding and doing the dirty work, especially when the roster is short-handed.
In Other News...
Pistons Just Got A Look At A Matchup Teams May Keep Testing
For Detroit, the most unusual part of the early-season matchup was not just the opponent, but the look it got from the other side. LeBron James started at center for the first time in his 24-year NBA career, a matchup wrinkle that came when Philadelphia and Detroit met in a regular-season game and forced the Pistons to deal with a different kind of frontcourt alignment than the one they expected.
Nick Nurse opened with James in the middle, but the experiment did not last long. James struggled offensively and Philadelphia was beaten on the boards, which led Nurse to put Adem Bona back at center and restore a more traditional setup. For the Pistons, it was another reminder that teams around the league may keep testing the same kind of big-small hybrid look, even if the first answer does not always hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Hot Start Just Put Their Summer Gamble In A New Light
Detroits 3-0 start has given the season an early shine, and it has also made the franchises offseason approach look a lot more practical in real time. Even with Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren unavailable, the Pistons found enough punch to beat Philadelphia, leaning on the kind of internal growth and depth that can sometimes be talked up in July and only proven in October.
Daniss Jenkins was a big part of that against the 76ers, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists while helping steady a lineup that has needed role players to step forward quickly. John Collins has been part of that picture too, as Detroits early success has come less from splashy headlines and more from the sort of contributions that can quietly change the tone around a team. [Read more 🡒]
Paul Reed Is Easing Early Doubts About Detroits Isaiah Stewart Bet
Paul Reed is starting to make the Pistons look a little more comfortable with the frontcourt gamble they made when they moved Isaiah Stewart for draft compensation and handed the backup center job to Reed. Detroit wanted a reserve big who could give the second unit more on offense without sacrificing the rim protection and physicality it values, and Reed has been showing why the front office was willing to make that switch.
In a recent game, Reed stepped into an expanded role because of an injury to a teammate and delivered across the board, helping with points, rebounds and blocks while giving the bench a steadier offensive presence. The sample is still small, but it is the kind of early return Detroit was hoping for when it chose a more versatile fit behind the starters. [Read more 🡒]