It’s been nearly three months since Jrue Holiday’s move to the Boston Celtics became official. The 33-year-old guard joined the Cs via trade back on Oct. 1, just days after the Milwaukee Bucks dealt him to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Damian Lillard blockbuster.
Celtics fans were ecstatic when the news broke. The Holiday trade pretty much eclipsed Boston’s other blockbuster move of landing Kristaps Porzingis back in June. Then the season got underway and there became less and less chatter of the team’s newest guard.
There’s always going to be somewhat of an adjustment period when a team of stars is put together so quickly. Guys have to figure out how exactly they fit into what the group is trying to accomplish and that takes time. For Holiday, there has certainly been something like that. But it’s also been different.
The two-time All-Star first found his niche on the defensive end. Head coach Joe Mazzulla tasked him with the unique assignment of defending bigger players. In his first game as a Celtic, Holiday had New York Knicks forward Julius Randle in the torture chamber. Randle finished the night with just 14 points on 5-of-22 shooting after being hounded by the All-Defensive guard all game.
That trend has been a staple throughout the first 29 games of the season. Holiday has matched up with the likes of Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and LeBron James. He and Derrick White have done a tremendous job of making the lives of opposing scorers as difficult as possible.
Holiday has had a knack for creating timely stops too. In Monday’s Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers he had a steal and a block, both of which came at important times.
This steal was a lifeline for the ice-cold Celtics. They had watched an 18-point lead vanish into thin air and had just given up their second offensive rebound of the possession. Holiday took it upon himself to create the stop by putting some extra pressure on Lakers guard Austin Reaves.
Later in the game, he stepped up once again and stuffed a Jaxson Hayes dunk attempt that would’ve cut Boston’s lead down to just six points.
Not to mention that he hustled to grab some massive rebounds too. It’s something he’s been doing all season. The 14-year veteran has posted a career-high in rebounds per game, ripping down 6.7 boards on average.
Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Holiday has mostly let the game come to him. There haven’t been many instances of him having massive scoring nights, or even taking a lot of shots. Truthfully, that’s how it should be. With the amount of sheer talent on the top half of Boston’s roster, there’s absolutely no need for forced offense.
Holiday has done an excellent job of being ready when it’s time for him to make things happen. He’s been wildly efficient shooting-wise, knocking down 46.6% of his field goal attempts and a career-high 41.9% of his looks from beyond the arc. This sort of efficiency is wild for a guy who’s taking the least amount of shots since his rookie season.
Plus, the real fun is just getting started.
After not cracking the 20-point mark through the first 26 games of the season, Holiday has now surpassed it twice in his last three outings. Boston’s recent West Coast trip was a coming-out party for the veteran guard. He was fantastic in the Celtics’ wins over the Sacramento Kings, the LA Clippers, and the Lakers.
Holiday not only had his best scoring stretch of the year but also did it without dipping below 53.8% from the field. On top of that, No. 4 sank 11-of-17 from long range during this recent heater. He did an excellent job of picking his spots and sinking shots in timely moments.
Last Wednesday in Sacramento, the Cs were in a dog fight early against the Kings. De’Aaron Fox had exploded for a 17-point first quarter and had his team ahead heading into the second.
Once things got rolling again, Holiday scored eight points for the Celtics to help their offense get on track. He took over and led the second unit in a game where Jayson Tatum was sidelined with an ankle injury.
In the clip above, he uses the Neemias Queta screen, reads the defense, and makes a quick decision to step back into the open three. This type of thing may look simple but Holiday took on a good chunk of responsibility at this stage of the game. Things could’ve easily gone sideways but his calming veteran presence helped the Cs remain steady in the non-Jaylen Brown, non-Kristaps Porzingis minutes.
Holiday finished that match-up with his sixth double-double of the year, logging 21 points and 10 assists.
Three days later he had another strong showing against the Clippers. Boston got off to a slower start in this one, but Holiday remained a steady force for them early on. He scored seven first-quarter points to help the Cs open a seven-point lead over LA.
Holiday did a great job of moving without the ball here, assuming a bit of a different role than he had days earlier.
He did a great job of spacing the floor on this Al Horford short roll. By staying ready in the corner, he helped Boston make the Clips’ defense pay for overcommitting to the big man.
About a minute later, he gave White a target as he snuck past James Harden with a baseline cut for an easy layup.
The scoring continued for Holiday throughout the afternoon and he finished with an efficient 20 points.
Christmas was no different than his previous two outings. The star guard found himself as a larger focal point of the offense and made the most of it. He got himself involved by both being aggressive and also getting himself to the right spots.
His first make of the day came because of a great relocation off of a screen from Tatum. Holiday was able to catch White’s pass in rhythm and drill the three.
Later in the quarter, he built off of that first make by taking advantage of Reave’s rushed closeout. Holiday pump faked, drove past the Lakers guard, and ate a bump for an and-one opportunity. He made a great read and chose to be aggressive, and it paid off.
The Lakers were able to get themselves back into the game after Boston cooled off from their hot start. When things really felt like they were about to go sideways, Holiday crashed the offensive glass, secured another possession, then drilled a deep three. The timeliness of the bucket was almost more impressive than the hustle sequence that created it.
In the fourth quarter, Holiday was able to get a pair of easy buckets by getting himself inside. He did it once by making a great cut without the ball, then later by forcing the issue and creating a drive for himself. These two plays are great examples of how he’s been able to do it both ways this season.
Despite seeing his shot totals drop and his role shrink with the move to the Cs, Holiday has remained ready for the moment and has been a steady veteran presence for Boston when it’s mattered most.
It’s not imperative that he continues to have big scoring nights going forward, but if the Celtics find a way to keep him involved on the offensive end then their ceiling is going to only get higher.
