When the Boston Celtics traded for Jrue Holiday last fall, the reception was mostly positive. Fans were excited to add a veteran presence with championship experience to an already-talented team. Any negativity surrounding the move came from those who weren’t convinced that Holiday would be impactful in the postseason.
The 33-year-old doesn’t have a fantastic track record when the stakes get higher in the spring. His numbers since 2021, especially his efficiency, aren’t the greatest. In his three postseason appearances with the Milwaukee Bucks, Holiday never shot higher than 41% from the field (40.6% in 2021, 37.9% in 2022, and 40.0% in 2023). His three-point percentage was a similar story, as he capped out at 31.6% from long range, during that span (30.3% in 2021, 31.6% in 2022, and 28.6% in 2023).
For reference, Holiday shot 49.4% overall and 39.5% from deep in 193 regular-season appearances for the Bucks.
His debut regular season campaign with the Celtics had a similar shooting standard to those in Milwaukee. Holiday sank 48.0% of his attempts from the field and a career-high 42.9% of those from distance.
Through four games, his postseason career in Boston has gone about the same as the last three seasons. Holiday’s shooting splits have dropped down to 31.4%/33.3% and he’s averaging just 7.3 points per game.
While everything that is written above is, for sure, less than ideal, I’m still not entirely convinced that this will continue or that it will matter if it does.
The fantastic thing about Holiday is that he brings so much to the team, regardless of whether or not his shots are falling.
In this opening series against the Miami Heat, his impact has been felt on the defensive side of the ball where he’s been tasked with slowing down Tyler Herro. Herro was tied with Jimmy Butler as the Heat’s leading scorer this season, averaging 20.8 points per game on 44.1%/39.6% splits. In the first four games against Holiday and the Cs, his scoring average has dropped three points and his field goal percentage has dipped to 40.7%.
Holiday has spent 107 “partial possessions” as Herro’s primary defender in this series. When being guarded by Boston’s No. 4, Herro has made just six of his 16 field goal attempts. It can’t be understated how impressive it is that the veteran has held Miami’s leading scorer to so few attempts.
His presence on defense was something that Jayson Tatum spoke about after Boston’s Game 1 win over the Heat on April 21.
“Yeah, he was very solid,” Tatum explained (h/t CLNS Media). “Jrue’s ability to just stick to a game plan but at the same time, use his instincts is huge for us. And so, he did a great job on that throughout the game, staying with him, and making it difficult. And we need him to continue to do that. So, [we] got off to a great start defensively with his effort.”
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On top of his ability as a defender, Holiday is also a fantastic teammate by all accounts. “The Ringer’s” Mirin Fader detailed the veteran’s first practice with his Celtics teammates, after joining the team last October.
He told the team that he was “here to help in any way.”
Holiday’s immediate willingness to bend and sacrifice for the Cs was something that Al Horford feels helped this group quite a bit.
“For a guy of his stature to come in here and be so willing and genuinely care about winning, I feel like that’s contagious,” Horford told Fader. “It puts us all on notice, and he’s somebody that we respect and that we look up to.”
Horford went on to discuss Holiday’s winning-first approach, which he noticed in the Celtics’ Opening Night win over the New York Knicks.
“He was doing a lot of things that are not going to come on the stats sheet, that are good for the team: making an extra pass when an extra pass needs to be made or covering for us on the defensive end, which he does constantly. … At the end of the day, we won, and that’s all he cares about.”
A player who is willing to put the team above themselves is almost always going to be a positive when the playoffs roll around.
It was clear that Holiday is one of those guys when he didn’t even attempt a shot in the first half of Saturday’s Game 3 win in Miami. Despite finishing the game with just three points, he blocked two shots, captured a steal, and dished six assists on his way to a team-high +23 in the victory.
This version of the Celtics is set up so everyone can eat. The sheer amount of talent that they’re able to put out onto the court will (hopefully) make it easy for Holiday to find his stroke as the playoffs roll along. He isn’t being asked to take difficult shots but is instead able to play to his strengths. Moving forward, his offensive portfolio will likely consist of catch-and-shoot threes, cutting layups, and the occasional floater.
Regardless, Holiday’s other strengths should outweigh any sort of offensive struggles we all see this spring. His championship experience and willingness to do what’s right for the team cannot be valued enough.
