Monday night, the Celtics defeated the Nets for the fifth time in a row thanks to a fantastic performance by Jayson Tatum (41 points). A lot of outstanding performance was also displayed around the All-Star, particularly from Jrue Holiday (14 points, 12 assists), who has emerged as one of Boston’s most reliable players recently.
The 33-year-old is still mostly used as a pinch-hitter in Boston’s offensive scoring attack. Despite having a loaded starting five, he is scoring fifth on the team while playing at a usage rate that is career-low. The guard has demonstrated a strong willingness to give up scoring opportunities, but as Boston’s season has progressed, his effectiveness has only increased.
Holiday shot 50 percent from the field for the third straight game in Tuesday’s win, knocking down 6-of-10 attempts from the field and 50 percent of his shots from 3-point range. In five games in February, Holiday is knocking down 58.8 percent of his 3s while stuffing the box score with 12.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.
After an uneven start to the year at times offensively, it’s quite evident now that Holiday has found his groove. He leads the team in 3-point shooting (44 percent) on the season, which is also a career-high for the 6-foot-4 guard. While he’s shooting the ball less than ever, he’s been able to contribute more in other parts of his game. His rebounding rates are career highs, his turnover rate has taken a dip and he’s guarded a wide array of defenders for Joe Mazzulla while captaining the team’s top-5 defense.
In the wake of a relatively quiet trade deadline last week around the league, it’s evident now that the bet on Holiday is looking better than ever for Brad Stevens. Holiday has become fully integrated into this group quite nicely and he easily looks like the best player or at least the best fit for this roster Boston could have landed all year long among players who were on the move in the past few weeks. Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby may be bigger names but Holiday helps this team far more than they would have with his defensive versatility and 3-point shooting prowess. Among trade deadline week acquisitions, the likes of Buddy Hield, Bojan Bogdanovic and Gordon Hayward don’t hold a candle to Holiday when it comes to two-way impact at the point.
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