The Indiana Pacers are entering the 2019-20 NBA season as one of the most unheralded contenders in the NBA. Even though they lost players like Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic, the Pacers are still going to be a team to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.
Kevin Pritchard went into the offseason looking to make some major changes. He wanted to add shooting, get more athletic, and get younger. Surprisingly, he was able to accomplish all of those tasks even being a small market team in a city that many stars won't come to.
Granted, he wasn't able to sign an “elite” free agent, but snagging Malcolm Brogdon in a sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks was a massive addition at the point guard position. Indiana also landed Jeremy Lamb in free agency and acquired forward T.J. Warren during the 2019 NBA Draft.
Overall, it was a big win for the Pacers. Now, they are hoping that some of their young talent can take the next step and come through with a breakout season.
One player to keep an eye on this season for Indiana is backup point guard Aaron Holiday. He showed flashes of top-notch scoring and was able to create for his teammates as well. The brother of New Orleans Pelicans star Jrue Holiday and fellow Pacer Justin Holiday, Aaron is ready for an expanded role.
Last season with the Pacers, Holiday ended up playing in 50 games as a rookie. He averaged 5.9 points per game to go along with 1.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds. Holiday shot 40.1 percent from the field overall and knocked down 33.9 percent of his three-point attempts.
Late in the season, Holiday earned an even bigger role following the Victor Oladipo injury. He struggled at times with consistency, but the league as a whole has a very high opinion of him.
Indiana did go out and sign veteran point guard T.J. McConnell in free agency. He will provide Holiday with some competition for backup minutes. That being said, Nate McMillan has the luxury of playing the second-year point guard at either the point guard or shooting guard position.
Why is Holiday the breakout candidate for Indiana this season?
McMillan and company have talked highly of Holiday both in the season-ending press conference last year and throughout the offseason. They received a lot of trade interest in the young guard, but were unwilling to move him. That in and of itself shows how highly they view him.
He averaged just 12.9 minutes per game as a rookie, which is sure to go up this year. Averaging around 16-20 minutes per game is a reasonable goal, assuming he performs well in training camp and preseason play.
With those extended minutes, Holiday is going to be asked to be a key scorer off the bench. The Pacers went out and added scoring, but they are going to rely heavily on Holiday's ability to knock down the three-point shot. An increased role and consistent minutes is exactly what Holiday needs to get himself going.
It is going to be interesting to see how Holiday performs this season. If he is able to take the leap that the Pacers are hoping to see from him, he will be a big part of their success or failure. On the other hand, if he doesn't, he will be sitting behind Brogdon and McConnell and could become trade bait.
Expect to see Indiana get him into the rotation immediately. His potential is through the roof and the fans in Indiana are hoping he can reach that ceiling. If he does, Indiana will have a high-scoring combo guard to lead them off the bench, which was one of the biggest weaknesses last season.
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