Aaron Holiday is getting back into his groove

After hitting a rookie wall, Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Holiday has finally reclaimed his groove.

Overall, Aaron Holiday‘s rookie season for the Indiana Pacers has been solid. Holiday has been useful, especially when compared to the expectations that are usually given to someone drafted 23rd.

However, early in the calendar year 2019, Holiday had hit a rookie wall. This is not unusual for a first-year player, but given how electric Holiday was to start off his rookie campaign, it was unfortunate to see Holiday hit this obstacle. His effectiveness really tanked.

In the first two months of 2019, Holiday was flat out bad. In 11 minutes per game, he averaged a measly 4.6 points, .9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He couldn’t put the ball in the basket effectively. He shot 32.6 percent from the field during that stretch, a figure that would rank 472nd in the NBA, Woof.

Rookies make mistakes and rookies hit rookie walls. It happens. It happens all the time, in fact, which makes this stretch of play the opposite of concerning. Especially when you consider how good Holiday was before the calendar flipped years. That doesn’t make him hitting a wall less of a bummer, it just makes it more acceptable.

Finally, though, it appears Aaron Holiday has burst through that wall. The ball is finally going in the basket and the game is coming to him.

I actually had a specific moment where I noticed Holiday being more effective. It was in the Indiana Pacers game against the Philadephia 76ers a few weeks ago, when he flew to the rim and softly dropped in a finger roll over his defender while Joel Embiid trailed the play:

At this moment, and this game, I just felt like the kid had some swagger back. He stroked an off the dribble three just before that and looked like he actually belonged on the floor. The game slowed down for him. His impact had returned.

Duty Calls

An opportunity has allowed this to happen to Holiday. Darren Collison has been injured, meaning Holiday was needed in the guard rotation. Those 3 sans-DC games have given Holiday consistent playing time, which has allowed him to get a rhythm in a way he hasn’t had in a while.

Additionally, in the last few times the rookie has received minutes in the rotation prior to this run, he was playing more as a ball-handler alongside Cory Joseph. He’s not as great in that role this season as his reads are still at a rookie level, so the extended stretch he had being the creator in lieu of Tyreke Evans was a bit painful.

In the role he is able to play when DC is out, he’s been more effective. He shares the floor with Evans, and he can play off the ball more frequently. That allows him to be his shifty self with less attention focused on him. His jumpers become rhythm catch-and-shoots. Everything feels more natural:

Now that Holiday has been inserted into a role that is better for him, he’s hit a groove. In the month of March, the rookie has played in 6 games. In those half-dozen performances, he’s getting about 11 minutes per game and doing a fair bit with them, averaging 6.3 point and 1.3 assists. Both of those figures are as good or better than his early 2019 numbers, and they are in the same amount of time on the floor per game.

More importantly, though, he’s seeing the ball go through the net. 56.5 percent of his shots have gone in throughout March, including 54.5 percent of his threes. He’s finally back to being the contributor he was earlier in the season. He won’t continue to finish that well from the field, but in a more comfortable role, he will be a better shot maker than he was in January and February.

Darren Collison might be back soon, per J Michael of the Indy Star. That might mean the end of Holiday minutes. But the Indiana Pacers found a good role and situation for Holiday, and it allowed him to get back on track.

It still isn’t clear what Holiday will be when his game is refined. But this month has been inspiring in that we have seen another blueprint for success for the rookie. Once the Indiana Pacers figure out the best way to use Aaron Holiday, he’s going to see more stretches like this one. And they will be elongated.