Can Aaron Holiday Impact the Houston Rockets Season with Fred VanVleet Out?

Compared to other position groups in Houston, the guard room is presumably the most depleted as Reed Sheppard, Aaron Holiday and newly acquired JD Davidson remain the only true guards on the roster heading into the season.

While Houston went out on a spending spree this offseason, the guard room was their only position not to see a bump, although insiders and fans clamored for the front office to add another ball handler for the team.

During the summer, it was reported by Kelly Iko that Houston's 2024 first-round pick, Reed Sheppard, would see an increased role in his second year in the league, especially after the Rockets traded away Jalen Green as part of their package for Kevin Durant.

Sheppard will likely see more minutes on the floor than other guards, but Aaron Holiday will also be asked to take on a heavier role compared to seasons prior.

This will be Holiday's third year with the Houston Rockets and eighth in the league as the 30-year-old is coming off a season where he logged his second-highest made three-point percentage at 39.8%, and if he wants to impact the team this season, he'll have to continue to shoot well behind the arc.

Last season, he also found himself a part of the closing lineup for the Houston Rockets, presumably for his carefulness with the basketball and confidence from Coach Ime Udoka.

Through 62 games, Holiday averaged 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in just 12.8 minutes per game.

During the Rockets media day, Coach Ime Udoka talked about the guard situation and what will likely happen to begin the season, mentioning a "committee of players", which could set up Holiday to be a part of that rotation committee.

Three-point shooting was the Rockets' kryptonite last season, but with Holiday being one of the few players on the roster flirting with a 40% completion rating behind the arc, he is a big asset this upcoming season as Houston looks to change its identity in that department.

With the pre-season only a week away, we'll continue to monitor Aaron Holiday's significance on this season's roster and view how much he can impact the Rockets winning.