Rockets veteran hit with gut punch as the team moves on without him

As the Houston Rockets have attempted to account for the loss of starting point guard Fred VanVleet, they have, to varying levels of success, leaned upon Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to take on the burden of facilitating the offense.

Yet, in spite of the fact that the team's backcourt depth is exceedingly slim with VanVleet out, veteran guard Aaron Holiday has played only seven minutes in the team's first three games, and it appears as though the team may be moving on without him as they attempt to cobble together a run at a championship this season.

Holiday, 29, has spent the past two season in Houston, taking on relatively signficant minutes as the backup point guard in both of those campaigns. However, as the Rockets now need Sheppard to take on a larger role in the offense, it appears as though Holiday has, unfortunately, been pushed out.

Aaron Holiday could see his minutes be severely limited this season because of Reed Sheppard and Josh Okogie

To be clear, it's not as though Holiday's role with the Rockets prior to this season was necessarily huge. In 2024-25, through 62 games, Holiday averaged just 12.8 minutes per night, splitting opportunities with Sheppard and posting 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists over the course of the season.

However, while his lack of usage this season is relatively surprising given the Rockets' severe need for reliable minutes in the backcourt, it can be explained by the emergence of both Sheppard and offseason signing Josh Okogie as major pieces for the team.

Sheppard, so far this season, has seen a massive increase in his role. While he has yet to start a game, he has doubled his minutes from last season, averaging 24 a night, and he has begun to find his footing offensively, having shot 44.4% from 3-point range on the season.

Okogie, meanwhile, has been a bit of a surprising rotational piece, even earning a start against the Brooklyn Nets as the team attempted to downsize its starting lineup. While his numbers have not necessarily popped off the page thus far, his energy on both ends of the floor and the additional spacing he provides the team could signify a more extensive run for him this season than he may otherwise have gotten.

Holiday, meanwhile, earned two DNPs in the Rockets' first two games of the season and only got time against the Nets as a result of the blowout nature of the team's victory.

While Holiday may have more experience than Sheppard, he certainly does not have more offensive upside, and that is undeniably what the team craves right now. Unfortunately for Holiday, the emergence of these two players could mean that he has been cut out of the rotation for the foreseeable future.