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Rockets' Aaron Holiday Acting as Key Veteran for Jalen Green

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Rockets
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated 12/4/23

The Houston Rockets' young core is soaking in the knowledge from the veteran players that the team signed this offseason.

While Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green headline as the veterans helping the Rockets dig out of the bottom of the Western Conference, one player is often overlooked in this category.

Aaron Holiday has also been a key piece for the Rockets to start the season, filling in for the injured rookie Amen Thompson, but also providing his guidance to the younger players. Holiday seems to have specifically been a big help for Jalen Green, whom he praised in an interview with HoopsHype.

"When I first got here, we played. I just sprinkle in things I see that he’s doing that could help his game, like getting to the paint, playing off two, or slowing down a little bit," Holiday said via HoopsHype. "He’s very talented and has a lot in his bag already."

Green has had an up-and-down start to the season for the Rockets so far. He is averaging 19 points per game, which is a dip from his 22.1 points per game average from a season ago. There are some games where he can take over as the lead guard and score 20, 25 and sometimes even 30 points, and there are other games where he's landing somewhere below 15.

Holiday has been a complementary guard throughout his six-year career, but he's able to provide tips as a guard that can help him when he's bringing the ball up or playing off of someone else, like VanVleet.

Once Green figures out the nuances of being a multi-faceted guard, one that can dominate and take over and also play off of another, his value towards the Rockets will grow immensely.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Rockets and was syndicated with permission.

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