Perhaps the biggest offseason addition the Bucks made was trading for Jrue Holiday. The price was steep. In order to get him, the Bucks had to give up Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and three first-round draft picks. While Holiday and the Bucks are still figuring out the best way to play together, early results show that he is a massive upgrade in the Bucks’ starting lineup. One of the things that will begin to endear him to the Bucks’ fan base his his “no-fear” and “bully like” attitude towards anyone who tries to defend him and who he is defending. Indeed, Holiday carries a swagger on the court that the Bucks have been missing for a long time.
Jrue Holiday Critiques the Defense to the Media
After a somewhat quiet start to the season, Jrue Holiday boomed into the hearts of Bucks fans when the critiqued Coach Bud’s defensive scheme to the media.
With the way teams are shooting, Jrue Holiday says "it gets tough" to defend PnR when you aren't switching.
"When it comes down to it it's a team effort whatever scheme we are doing, even if we aren't switching I have to make that floater tough or that 2-point shot tough"
— Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) January 9, 2021
Simply put, Coach Bud was not having the Bucks’ players switch on pick and rolls. Instead, he wanted them to fight through them or go under them. The result was not great, and certainly not up to Holiday’s standards for himself or the team. Switching on pick and rolls is something that Holiday has done so well in his career. His success in this facet of the game is a result of his ability to defend any position. Even Giannis said in an interview that Jrue Holiday can “defend 1-4, and sometimes 5 on some nights.”
[pickup_prop id=”3591″]
What is amazing about this is that Jrue Holiday is just 6’4″ and a point guard. Yet, throughout his career, he has been able to lockdown his opponent no matter how much taller they might be.
Jrue Holiday is so good at switching defenders. He’s destroyed the Suns bigs tonight.
— Sam Ficarro (@SamFicarro) November 22, 2019
The above Tweet is from 2019. Holiday has been doing this for years, and has been doing effectively. After his comments to the media, the Bucks’ defense started to switch more on pick and rolls. Maybe it is because of Jrue being a bully in the media and forcing the switch. Or maybe he is calling for switches on the floor despite the scheme. In any case, he is leading an improved defensive effort that is shutting down pick and rolls in the last week.
Jrue Holiday vs. Aaron Gordon
On January 11, the Bucks traveled to Orlando for their only matchup of the season against the Magic. As game played out, Jrue Holiday ended up guarding Aaron Gordon in an effort to slow him down. Aaron Gordon is 6’8″ and very explosive. Despite this, Holiday proved to be very effective against the bigger offensive player.
https://twitter.com/nathanmarzion/status/1348793883552067588
In addition to locking Gordon up on defense, he also attacked him on the offensive end. Holiday did not have a good shooting night over all. However, his ability to move around defenders to make passes show just how much of an upgrade he is over Eric Bledsoe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpjq2tR8S_w
Jrue Holiday vs. Blake Griffin
A couple days later, on January 13, the Bucks faced the Pistons for the final time this season. In that game, Holiday found himself matching up against Blake Griffin. Now, Griffin is not the explosive force that he once was. However, he still has five inches and 45 pounds on Holiday. That did not matter. Holiday was able to lock him down defensively as well.
https://twitter.com/nathanmarzion/status/1349537867551354881
On top of this brilliant defensive display, Holiday had his best shooting night as a Buck. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Holiday shot 8/13 from the floor, including 3/5 from three.
Conclusion
Jrue Holiday is a bully on the court. His defensive presence more than replaces what the Bucks lost by trading Eric Bledsoe. Bled could guard another team’s guards, but Holiday can guard anybody. In addition, Holiday’s shooting his better. His passing is better. Most importantly, he is more consistent on a night-to-night basis. Holiday and the Bucks are still learning each other, finding the best way to mesh. They’re figuring it out, and soon they will put the NBA on notice again.
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