Jrue Holiday Must Return to All-Star Level for New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans desperately need Jrue Holiday—the old Jrue Holiday, that is.
You remember him, don’t you? The All-Star. The versatile floor general of a playoff-bound Philadelphia 76ers team. The next big-time point guard.
Holiday was traded to the Pelicans on the night of the 2013 draft in exchange for Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first-round pick. The move was Philly’s first and most prominent step toward totally tanking.
The 24-year-old Holiday went down with a stress fracture in his right tibia after 34 games with New Orleans last season. He's returned this year at the helm of a team ready to take the leap from a fun bunch to a playoff contender.
Anthony Davis is a superstar; this we know. But the ‘Cans need a secondary star, a sidekick to emerge alongside the Brow.
Their best bet is Holiday.
A Treacherous Yet Conquerable Mission
After wallowing in despair for a few years following Chris Paul’s departure, New Orleans is primed to make a run this season.
Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson provide Davis and Holiday with a legitimate, well-balanced supporting cast. And if Jimmer Fredette, Austin Rivers, Russ Smith and Jeff Withey can realize some of their immense potential, New Orleans will be that much deeper.
Holiday is one of the NBA’s most underrated commodities. He’s seldom mentioned when it comes to conversations about the league’s top point guards, though he’s arguably a top-10 player at the deepest position in basketball.
While he’s not a bona fide superstar, the guy is going to give you all he’s got on both ends of the floor.
Holiday, a former UCLA Bruin, is just 6’4” but is as strong as he is shifty and wields a silky-smooth jumper from mid-range as well as beyond the arc.
But here's the problem: New Orleans plays in what is without a shadow of a doubt the fiercest division in all of the NBA. Realistically, the Southwest Division could send all five of its teams to the postseason.
The San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets—all playoff teams in 2013-14—will make it tough on the Pelicans as they chase their first playoff berth since 2010-11, when CP3 was running the show.
And while the division competition may be hard, Holiday’s quest for a second go-round in the All-Star Game after earning the nod in 2013 may be even more difficult.
Before the 2013 All-Star Game, Paul told Wes Szafran of NJ.com that he and Chauncey Billups "always talk about the young point guards in the league, and I think a lot of times [Holiday] actually gets overlooked. I love his game, I love his poise, his athleticism."
There’s no denying that Holiday has All-Star-caliber talent. But CP3, Tony Parker, James Harden, Damian Lillard and Klay Thompson all have the power to keep Holiday out of New York for the 2015 All-Star game.
However, if Holiday can bump up his points and assists numbers—even if it causes a small dip in his shooting percentage—his bid will be as good as anyone’s.
In the Pelicans' most recent win, a 100-99 thriller over the undermanned Spurs on Nov. 8, Holiday shined with 15 points and 11 assists.
However, he only took 15 shots. The guard has yet to launch north of 20, but when he attempted 19 shots against the Mavs on Nov. 1, he hit 10 of them and finished with 24 points.
While he's playing at less than 100 percent, Holiday has no playing time restriction. He's averaging 34.2 minutes a night.
"I think I progress every day," Holiday said after the Dallas game, via John Reid of NOLA.com. "[I'm] definitely getting more comfortable running and jumping over a longer period of time. I think I’m getting better."
If the ‘Cans shape up to be a contending playoff team, which will largely be due to Holiday’s play (and health), the likelihood of a second All-Star nod will grow even more.
The Big Man’s Need for a Playmaker
Blake Griffin and Paul. Tim Duncan and Parker. Dwight Howard and Harden. Joakim Noah and a healthy Derrick Rose.
Davis and...Holiday? The Pelicans are counting on it.
Davis is as good as any of the big men mentioned above, if not better. The 21-year-old forward is a complete freak in every sense of the word.
An extremely lanky 6’10” beast, Davis can do it all. Through the Pelicans’ first five games of 2014-15, the third-year pro is averaging 24.4 points (on 50.6 percent shooting), 12.8 boards, 4.4 blocks, 2.2 steals and 1.8 assists a night.
Yes, it’s a small sample size. But Davis is merely continuing to tread the trail of dominance that he set out on over the summer with Team USA.
Here’s what John Calipari, who coached Davis for his lone season at Kentucky, had to say about the phenom back in late August, per Sam Amick of USA Today:
"Right now, you look at (Davis) and say, 'Man, in five years, he could be the best player in the NBA. And this USA Basketball stuff pushes that date sooner. Again, here's what it does for him: how to work, new things to add to his game, and confidence like, 'These are the best in the world, so I'm all right.'
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Davis is going to get his jaw-dropping highlights and stacked stat sheets every night—but he’s not good enough to play one-on-five.
New Orleans needs Holiday to rival the guards on the aforementioned list. He's certainly capable of doing so.
Prior to his season-ending injury last year, Holiday was giving New Orleans 14.3 points and 7.9 assists on 44.7 percent shooting. Decent numbers, for sure, but not eye-popping.
When Holiday went down, the Pelicans were 15-19. In the months following his injury, they sputtered and finished the year with a 19-29 run and wound up at 34-48, the No. 12 team in the West.
During his All-Star campaign with the Sixers, Holiday put up 17.7 points and eight assists to go along with 4.2 boards and 1.6 steals.
Granted, he was playing in the Eastern Conference for his first four years and has now transitioned into the much tougher West with the Pelicans.
But to be the best, sometimes you have to beat the best.
And Davis—easily the greatest talent Holiday has ever played with through his first six years in the NBA—can help get his point guard back into the All-Star Game.
First off, the Pelicans need to run more Holiday-Davis pick-and-rolls. Good things happen when the shifty Holiday gets in space and Davis takes flight.
Secondly, head coach Monty Williams simply must keep the duo on the floor together. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Davis and Holiday has been the Pelicans’ most effective two-man combination this season.
Here’s what Davis had to say about Holiday in their first offseason together (pre-injury), via Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver:
""He's one of the smoothest players I've seen," Davis said. "Nothing bothers him, nothing worries him. He goes out there and does what he has to do to win. That's excellent. ... He's an exceptional player. He can definitely come off the pick and roll pretty well. He can score the ball. A leader. He wants to come right in and get involved."
The Holiday/Davis pairing is an interesting one, as both players have the potential to be among the best two-way guys at their position for years to come. Both possess generally upbeat, happy-go-lucky personalities while also being capable of flipping a switch to an ultra-competitive side on the court. Davis said that he's already enjoying a "great chemistry" with Holiday, while Holiday said Davis is "one of those guys you gravitate towards" both on and off the court.
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Holiday wisely pointed out that "Anthony is the franchise guy.” That’s true. But franchises need more than one standout player to win.
Holiday's return to All-Star form would not only lessen the pressure on Davis but would also give the Pelicans a legitimate shot at landing a low seed in the dog-eat-dog Western Conference postseason chase.
Stats are accurate as of Nov. 9 courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
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