The Rockets beat the Cavaliers. Why is Aaron Holiday, the Raiders, not in the rotation this season?

In this game, the number one contributor to the Rockets' victory was Udoka. Udoka's different formations had targeted effects, and he knew how to stop when things were good and stop losses in time. When Durant performed poorly, Shen Jing supported the team's basic base. In this game, the Rockets' biggest surprise player was none other than Aaron Holiday.

In this game, Holiday played 19 minutes for the Rockets. He made 5 of 7 field goals, 3 of 5 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 18 points, 1 steal, and 2 fouls. His plus/minus on the field was +6.

Holiday's scoring distribution, 4 points were scored in the first 3 quarters, and 14 points were scored at the end of the final quarter. He became the biggest contributor to the Rockets' stabilization of the situation, and became the second main attacker for the Rockets to digest the ball at the end of the fourth quarter, second only to Shen Jing.

Holiday's performance is very good. Why is he not in the regular lineup during regular time this season? What is the mystery?

This season, Uduka basically implemented a rotation of 9-10 people. The regular starting lineup was Amen + Okogie + Durant + Smith + Shen Jing. This starting lineup took 10 games. The five-high lineup Amen + Durant + Smith + Shen Jing + Adams took 3 games.

The Rockets' regular substitute rotation includes Shepard, Capela, Adams, and Ethan. The only players who are not in the team's regular rotation, except for players with two-way contracts, are Tate, Jeff Green, and Aaron Holiday.

Currently, only 14 players in the Rockets' regular lineup have official contracts. Among them, VanVleet, Fan, and Ethan are currently injured and have been sidelined for a long time. The Rockets actually have only 11 players with official contracts available.

Currently, Jeff Green has not entered the rotation lineup. The main reason is that he is too old and cannot play too much time. Jeff Green mainly plays the rotation at the fourth and fifth positions. In the regular rotation at the fifth position, Jeff Green cannot squeeze out Adams. + Capela's playing time does not have the functionality of these two players. The playing time of Jabari Smith Jr. at the fourth position + Ethan's playing time is also ahead of it. He has not entered a regular time this season. He is more like the team's stable player and locker room balance, and a spiritual mentor to support young players.

Tate once entered the rotation lineup this season. Uduka used Tate mainly for defense, but his performance on both offense and defense was far from what Uduka expected. Basically, his playing time was very short. He did not impress Uduka, and he was completely DNPed by Uduka.

Aaron Holiday entered the rotation lineup for a short time this season. Udoka used Holiday mainly to use Holiday's shooting function and space attributes. Holiday is also a ball-handling point, and the Rockets have an extra ball-handling point to prevent the opponent's full-court press defense.

So, why has Holiday not been in the team's regular rotation for a long time?

Mainly because the Rockets want to train Shepard hard. Both Holiday and Shepard are basically tall enough to play the No. 1 position, but Holiday's style of play is more inclined to the No. 2 position. As a shooting guard's attributes, shooting and scoring are its main functions. He is easily targeted on the defensive end, mainly because he is too short and has poor defensive switching ability.

Holiday's defense has weaknesses and loopholes, which are not defensive weaknesses. The strength confrontation and bottom plate are very stable and are rarely targeted. However, Sheppard is often targeted by opponents and becomes a defensive weak link.

However, Shepard has more room for imagination in the future than Holiday. Holiday is more of a scorer, a pitcher, and a ball-handling point. His organizational and linking abilities are not very strong, and his function is relatively simple. Shepard's future potential is more worth looking forward to than Holiday.

On the one hand, when VanVleet was injured and was likely to be retired for the season, Uduka's response was that Amen would be the main point guard, and Shepard would be on the bench instead of Aaron Holiday. This was mainly due to Shepard's draft pick, basketball acumen, shooting accuracy and efficiency, and passing as the prototype of a top-level vision point guard in the Rockets' long-term future planning. Shepard has a lot of room for growth in the future, which is visible to the naked eye.

On the other hand, if Shepard's current rookie contract can be played out, the Rockets will most likely need to renew the contract, while Holiday is on a veteran's minimum salary contract. If Holiday plays outstanding data, the Rockets will basically be unable to retain him.

This is the first time this season that Udoka has asked Aaron Holiday to play the final stage. In the previous two games, Udoka has used Shepard to play the final stage. Why did Udoka let Aaron Holiday play the final stage in this game?

The main reason is that Shepard was frequently targeted by the opponent in this game. The opponent switched defenses to focus on beating Shepard in the low post, and the opponent had too many one-step breakthroughs against Shepard. In this game, Shepard became a weakness and loophole on the defensive end.

Holiday did not enjoy such treatment. Not only did Holiday not enjoy such treatment, he also took on the important task of facing the opponent's star player Mitchell in the fourth quarter, and often defended alone. When Mitchell could not be guarded, Holiday and Amen double-teamed Mitchell. Holiday's overall star contribution on both ends of the offense and defense was greater than that of Shepard, although both of them were accurate and outstanding on the offensive end.

Udoka faces a lot of cards in his hand, and the Rockets' lineup is also very deep and thick, giving Udoka more opportunities to adapt and play cards. Aaron Holiday has the strength to enter the rotation lineup, but the reason why he is not in the rotation lineup in the end is that the Rockets need to train Shepard, that's all.