How Jrue Holiday Won Over Celtics Teammates In Debut Boston Run
The Boston Celtics had an idea of what they were getting when the president of basketball operations Brad Stevens packaged a multi-chip deal with the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Jrue Holiday this past offseason.
Watching the Eastern Conference-rival Milwaukee Bucks gamble at the blackjack table by surrendering Holiday to acquire flashy eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard, the Celtics pulled the perfect trigger. Stevens knew the departure of ex-defensive leader Marcus Smart would mean a trade or signing of some kind was demanded to supplement the roster. Hence, the second of two major blockbusters came to life and so did the vision of Boston’s masterminded team architect in adding Holiday to the mix.
The 33-year-old had plenty of credentials upon joining the Celtics, including a 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medal, two All-Star nominations, and three NBA All-Defensive First-Team honors. However, one award best encapsulates Holiday the player better than any other, and it’s largely represented in his debut season in Boston: NBA Teammate of the Year — which Holiday’s won three times throughout 14 previous seasons.
“He came in here very willing, very open-minded, not stepping on anybody’s toes and just wanting to work,” six-year Celtics veteran Al Horford told Mirin Fader of The Ringer. “The thing that’s impressed me about him is his work ethic and how he goes about his daily routine and then really just embracing our players, embracing what we had here, and trying to find his way with this group.”
Horford added: “He’s somebody we respect and that we look up to.”
Holiday is only 64 games deep into his Celtics tenure, yet to officially log a full first season. Yet the reviews speak for themselves: the impact Holiday delivers night-to-night is just the latest signal of “Big Brain Brad’s” genius.
While welcoming Holiday with open arms has been a breeze for the Celtics, the transition wasn’t nearly as elementary for the well-respected guard.
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Holiday viewed Milwaukee as his home and figured being a pivotal part of the organization’s 2021 NBA Finals victory would help grandfather him into the front office’s good graces. After all, running the Holiday defensive scheme of having the luxury of a strong, engaged guard who could dismantle opposing pick-and-roll plays isn’t easy to find or replicate. Even Bucks head coach Doc Rivers hasn’t even thought of creating a knockoff version to help rekindle Milwaukee’s defensive identity which has fallen apart this season.
“You can’t (replace Holiday’s defense). That was one of the first things I said, like, ‘We’re not going to run the Jrue Holiday defense,'” Rivers said during Milwaukee’s trip to Boston in March. “… Jrue’s ability to pressure the ball up the floor, we don’t have that. We don’t have the guards that can just get over screens. So it forces us to play different.”
Boston’s defense has also forcibly undergone a slight identity change simultaneously, but for the better. Due in large part to Holiday’s merger with fellow backcourt partner Derrick White, the Celtics have recorded the second-most contested twos per game (29) average and the third-best defensive rating (110.7) in basketball. That only represents the impact Holiday’s consistently supplied the Celtics with from one side of the floor.
Offensively, Holiday, while at times “overly conservative” to the blind eye, has been what the Celtics hoped Smart could evolve into; a calm, mellow guard capable of settling down the offense while keeping miscues limited.
So far, that’s exactly what Holiday’s accomplished, averaging 12.6 points with 5.5 rebounds — the most of any guard in the East — and 4.9 assists, shooting 47.8% from the floor. What’s most glaring, however, is while Holiday’s only attempted 10.1 shots per game — his fewest since his rookie year in 2009-10 — and still leads the NBA shooting a stellar 62.2% from the right corner three.
Holiday has fit the Celtics like Cinderella’s glass slipper, which is simply a testament to his commitment before even playing alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and White.
“Every team is a puzzle,” Holiday explained to Fader. “And I’m a part of that puzzle. … So whatever the team needs from me: Some nights it might be scoring, some nights it might be shooting corner 3s or being a decoy. It might be setting screens or rebounding. I think that just comes with the type of talent and character that we have on this team.”
The list of reasons for Stevens and Holiday to agree upon reaching contract extension eligibility on Monday has reached the TD Garden rafters.