NBA rules will force unheralded guard to play massive minutes for the Rockets

As the Houston Rockets attempt to cope with the, possibly season-ending, ACL injury to starting point guard Fred VanVleet, almost every aspect of their rotation will need to be shaken up to account for the absence.

Yet, because the team is unable to sign another player for the time being as a result of their proximity to the first apron, bench guard Aaron Holiday will likely need to take on a massive role for the team, receiving more minutes in which his viability will be vital to Houston's success.

Holiday, who only averaged 12.8 minutes last year, has largely found his spot as a reliable role player for the Rockets. Now, however, the team will be forced to lean on him to take on full secondary playmaking duties behind Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun.

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As bad as the loss of VanVleet is, it is possible that Houston's championship hopes have not been entirely dashed. Both Sengun and Thompson, although it will take an alteration in the focus of their games, are capable of taking on the team's playmaking duties, and moving Thompson to point guard will allow the team to play their plethora of athletic wings on a more consistent basis.

Yet, where things get dicey is in the team's genuine lack of backcourt depth. Before the VanVleet injury, all they had in the way of natural guards were Holiday and second-year player Reed Sheppard. It is highly likely that Sheppard is not ready to take on a larger role, or even a full rotation role under normal circumstances.

Therefore, it falls to Holiday to help keep the team's offense afloat until they can clear their books enough to perhaps bring in a more experienced starting-caliber guard.

Yet, apart from his first couple seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Holiday has not averaged more than 17 minutes per game throughout his career. Last season, with a VanVleet and Jalen Green backcourt, Holiday started only three games, averaging 10.3 points, four rebounds and 3.3 assists in those appearances.

While it remains to be seen how easily Holiday will slide into a larger role, this is certainly a less-than-ideal position for the Rockets to be in.

A number of free agents, including polarizing guard Russell Westbrook, remain on the market, but Houston is unable to add any players to their roster except through trade, and all of the players they might be willing to trade cannot be moved until December 15. The Rockets are hard-capped at the first apron as a result of a number of moves they made this offseason (including the Clint Capela sign-and-trade and the Kevin Durant acquisition.)

Therefore, while Holiday is largely underrated in his role around the league, he will need to face the ultimate test early in the season in order to compensate for the loss of VanVleet. Somewhat frighteningly, much of the team's early season success will be based upon his ability to do so.