DaRon Holmes II's early season was defined by a jarring transition from deep-bench afterthought to an overwhelmed starter. After logging sparse minutes in October, he briefly flashed promise off the bench on 01/01 vs TOR, scoring 11 points on crisp 4-of-5 shooting to post a nearly neutral -0.6 Impact. The coaching staff immediately thrust him into the starting lineup. Unfortunately, the expanded role exposed his offensive limitations against frontline rotations. During the 01/03 vs CLE matchup, Holmes managed a surprising six assists, yet his dismal 1-for-6 shooting severely damaged the team's spacing, yielding a -12.7 Impact. Things hit rock bottom on 01/06 vs PHI. Playing 21 minutes, he missed all three of his attempts from deep and finished with just two points, resulting in a disastrous -18.8 Impact. He simply lacked the scoring gravity and shot-making efficiency needed to survive heavy minutes, turning his sudden promotion into a glaring net negative.

This eight-game stretch was defined by erratic playing time and an inability to positively influence the floor. Given a rare opportunity to open the game on 01/19 vs CHA, Holmes logged 26 minutes but struggled mightily with his perimeter shot selection. He bricked five three-pointers in that contest, settling for outside looks rather than attacking the paint, which resulted in a sluggish -3.2 Impact score. Things bottomed out off the bench on 01/24 vs MIL, where his passive offensive approach—attempting just three shots in 16 minutes—yielded an abysmal -9.7 Impact. He simply could not find a rhythm in his drastically reduced role, often entering for mere seconds of mop-up duty. Even when he found a spark on 02/20 vs POR by pouring in 9 points on 4-of-7 shooting in just 7 minutes, his overall Impact remained stuck in the red at -3.5. Those quick buckets against Portland looked nice on paper, but his overall value was dragged down by empty-calorie production, poor defensive rotations, and a failure to secure extra possessions during his brief stint.