When the Damian Lillard trade was announced, many Milwaukee Bucks fans were shocked to see that Jrue Holiday was one of the players listed in the three-team deal. Holiday spent three seasons with the Bucks and the highly respected player will definitely be missed on and off the court.
With the acquisition of Lillard, he doesn’t bring the defensive skills that Jrue Holiday held for the Bucks, but the hope is that there isn’t too much of a difference.
Holiday’s Impact on the Bucks
It’s hard to argue that Jrue Holiday wasn’t a fan favorite who made contributions in huge ways for the city of Milwaukee and the Bucks organization. I mean, he did help the team bring home a championship in 2021.
It was as hard pill to swallow when Bucks fans came to the realization that the trade was real and that Jrue Holiday was going to Portland (Only to be traded to the Boston Celtics). Damian Lillard realized the shoes he had to fill when the trade happened.
“Obviously me being brought in for a guy of Jrue Holiday’s caliber, who I have a lot of respect for, they won a championship with Jrue [in 2021]…after a first round exit, which we’ve all had years where you just run into a matchup, you just lose sometimes.”
Looking at both the offensive and defensive perspectives, Holiday trumps Lillard on any given day when it comes to defense. The former Bucks guard was way more stronger, and versatile on the court than that of Damian Lillard.
“I understand how to play team defense,” Lillard said. “I’m not going to come in here and be Jrue Holiday. In my personal opinion, I think he’s the best defender on the perimeter…The people I play against will tell you, I ain’t a pushover, you know what I’m saying?”
Coach Griffin advocating for Lillard’s Performance
The good thing is that the Bucks won’t be lacking severely on the defensive side of things. You have players like Giannis, and Brook Lopez who are able to help lift up Lillard on that end, pick up maybe where he lacks. Head coach Adrian Griffin isn’t setting the bar exponentially high for Lillard, he just wants him to play basketball like he knows how to.
“We don’t need him to [do] anything more or less than what he’s done the last 11 years… The goal is always the same and that’s to outscore the opponent. With Dame, your chances kind of increase.”
Griffin does want the Bucks to be more aggressively on the defensive perspective, which adds a little to Lillard’s workload besides shooting baskets.
Lillard knows that most of his efforts with the Trail Blazers came on offense, and progressively over the years, he’s gotten better and better at defense with understanding the calls, understanding what’s going on. He says that coming into the NBA as a young player, you struggle the most on the defensive end of the floor.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of desire, I think it’s not knowing terminology. Sometimes you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off. You don’t know what to expect. You don’t know tendencies. You don’t know personnel.
“I think if you really look into my progression defensively, you’ll see that I’ve gotten better year after year after year after year. And I think the main reason for that is understanding what’s going on. I know players around the league. I understand calls.”
I don’t think the Bucks will be really hurting without Jrue Holiday, but there’ll definitely be a noticeable difference. Damian Lillard provides a boost for the offensive side of the floor, and I’m confident that his defense will be good enough for the Bucks to succeed this season.
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