The Indiana Pacers are in as much of a rut as you could possibly expect given their current roster. It also does not help that the entire starting lineup is battling injury and the rotation is completely up in the air on a nightly basis.
Young guys like Edmond Sumner and Goga Bitadze have gotten more minutes over the past month or so, which has really helped develop their respective games. Sumner’s minutes were sacrificed from Aaron Holiday who is just now getting back into the mix.
Aaron Holiday has stepped up for the Indiana Pacers
Indiana has turned back to Aaron after moving him to the end of the bench and the young Holiday is proving his worth to the team. As injuries pile up in Indiana’s backcourt, Holiday has been thrust back into action as a backup guard and has done a nice job of late.
Going back four games against the Hornets where Holiday scored 12 points in 15 minutes, he has been a big part of the offense. He shot well that night and really has not looked back which is great news for the second unit and for Holiday himself.
The next matchup was Indiana’s overtime win in San Antonio as Aaron Holidays was excellent on the offensive end of the floor once again He scored 18 points in 22 minutes against the Spurs while knocking down 7-of-11 field goals and 3-of-5 from downtown.
After a quiet night against the Bulls on Tuesday, Aaron bounced back in a major way against the Timberwolves. He came off the bench for 22 minutes and led the Pacers with 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting that included a perfect night from beyond the arc. He added three assists and six makes in as many attempts from the foul line.
The Pacers have needed Aaron Holiday to assert himself offensively while not being a complete liability defensively, and Aaron has done that over the past few outings. If he can continue to shine as an on-ball guard in the second unit, he may be back on the roster next year. Worst case scenario, Holiday has upped his trade value this offseason.
T.J. McConnell is playing at an incredibly high level as well and the cost to retain him may be too much for the Pacers to afford, leaving them with no choice but Aaron Holiday to lead the second unit.