This is the exact reason the Boston Celtics went out and got Jrue Holiday.
After Boston lost to Miami in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the rest of the front office sat down to figure out what they should do next. There was a question hanging over them.
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In 2022, they lost the NBA Finals and missed making the playoffs again the next year by one game. How much were they ready to change the core of that team?
They finally chose to go big by moving Marcus Smart, their longtime point guard, for Kristaps Porzingis, a 7-footer. Then, when Milwaukee sent Holiday to Portland in exchange for Damian Lillard, the Celtics jumped at the chance to get Holiday. They moved Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III, who was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year, to get Holiday.
The risky moves paid off for the Celtics in the end, as they went on to win 64 games in the regular season, easily win the first three rounds of the playoffs, and take a 2-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
The defensive-minded Holiday kept Kyrie Irving in check, and his 26 points and 11 rebounds helped Boston win 105–98 in Game 2. This is the latest proof that Holiday is exactly where he should be.
“This seems like the right thing to do.” “I’m glad I’m here and thrilled to be in this moment,” Holiday said before the finals began.
“(Celtics coach) Joe Mazzulla has talked a lot about being in the present, especially this season. That’s what I’ve tried to do.”
Holiday’s 33-year-old desire to change his game to fit what his team needs this season is one reason why he’s been so good for the Celtics.
Holiday is okay with being the fourth or fifth scoring option in Boston. He was the third-best option in Milwaukee, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, during the Bucks’ title season in 2020–21. This regular season, he scored an average of 12.5 points per game, which was the fewest since his first season.
But there were times when Holiday had to step up, like in Game 2, when Dallas doubled up on All-Star Jayson Tatum, put more pressure on Jaylen Brown, or Porzingis had a tough game.
He has not only remained tough on defense this season, but he has excelled in it. The NBA All-Defensive players selected him for the second team. This marked his sixth selection to either the first or second team.
According to Holiday, it’s because of the team’s growing togetherness throughout the season.
“I think it brings you closer when you do something and give up something together,” he said. It’s important to be able to deal with wins and losses and still build something. From spots 1 through 15, someone gave up something.
The fact that Holiday already knew Tatum from their time together on the winning U.S. basketball team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo has eased some of his adjustment to Boston.
Tatum said that having that relationship with Holiday made it easy for him to check in with her from time to time this season.
Tatum told him, “I would just check in with him or always remind him to be himself, and that we’ll need you in big moments, like in Game 2.”
It’s allowed Holiday to play to his strengths, particularly his ability to keep things calm on the court while Mazzulla keeps things under control.
In the playoffs, Holiday has also helped keep things stable for a team that has struggled in the past by relying too much on one-on-one play or turning the ball over too often.
Smart was a strong alpha on the court, but Holiday knows how to get the most out of a star player like Antetokounmpo when they play together.
When asked to think about where the Celtics might be without Holiday, Tatum didn’t want to try to answer.
He told them, “Good thing we don’t have to find out.”
No matter what happens in the rest of the finals, this won’t be Holiday’s last game of the season. In April, he signed a four-year contract.
“From now on, it feels like I belong here,” Holiday said. “Plus, I should be with my teammates.” We need to work together on this.
But there’s only one way he’ll feel like his move to Boston was a success.
“It’s been great, and the trip has been great, but the work is still to be done,” he said.
