Former Milwaukee Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday is having himself an excellent NBA Finals series playing with the Boston Celtics. In Game Two on Sunday night, Holiday had a team-high 26 points to go with 11 rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal. As the Celtics have taken a 2-0 lead in the series, there are rumblings that Holiday could be a candidate to win NBA Finals MVP.
His performance for Boston throughout the NBA Playoffs has also started to reignite debate among Bucks fans regarding whether or not Milwaukee should have traded him away in the first place.
Holiday was traded to the Portland Trailblazers for perennial All-Star point guard Damian Lillard in the hopes that a combination of Dame and Giannis Antetokounmpo would lead the Bucks back to the NBA Finals. After the initial trade, Portland sent Holiday to Boston for numerous NBA draft picks.
Milwaukee Bucks Fans Were Excited about the Damian Lillard Trade, but Bummed about Losing Jrue Holiday
The prospect of pairing Giannis and Dame was simply too good of an opportunity for Milwaukee to pass up. Unfortunately, it cost them Holiday, who was a big part of their NBA Championship run in 2021.
Holiday was also a huge part of the community and was known for his charitable efforts in the city for the entire time he was with the Bucks.
In three seasons with Milwaukee, Holiday averaged 18.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. He was named First Team All NBA Defense twice and Second Team All NBA Defense once. Holiday was also named an All-Star during the 2022-23 season.
In the Bucks’ NBA Finals series, he averaged 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game.
Jrue Holiday and the Milwaukee Bucks Struggled in the Postseason After Winning the NBA Finals
While Holiday played a major role in helping the Bucks win the NBA Championship in 2021, the fact of the matter is that, for the next two postseasons, he was a contributing factor in why they were eliminated for the NBA Playoffs early.
In the 2022 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, the Bucks were playing without Khris Middleton, who had gotten injured in the opening round against the Chicago Bulls. This meant that Holiday was forced to carry a larger scoring load than before. While he did averaged 21.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, his defense fell short many times and Milwaukee ended up losing in seven games.
In the 2023 first round, the first-seed Bucks were upset by the eighth-seed Miami Heat. Of course, Giannis missed some time in this series, which forced Holiday into being the second option again. However, it was not his struggles on offense that were concerning, it was his defense.
Holiday could not stop Heat star Jimmy Butler, who willed Miami to victory over the stunned Bucks.
In both previous series losses described above, Holiday also disappeared as a shooter. Against Boston, he shot just 30% from three. Against Miami, he shot 28.6%.
The fact of the matter is that Holiday is thriving in Boston right now because he is the fourth or fifth scoring option on the team. Most of his 26 points in Game Two were layups that were created for him by other Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum.
Don’t misunderstand: Holiday is a good player. However, he is not able to carry a team like the Bucks were asking him to do without Middleton and Giannis.
Dame and Giannis will spend the offseason working together on building the chemistry they lacked during last regular season. They will also be healthy going into next season and, hopefully, stay that way. If they can, it could be the Bucks playing in the Finals next year.
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