‘We’ve been winning games’: What Jrue Holiday said of his offensive output in his first season with the Celtics
Holiday has put up some of the lowest numbers of his career on the offensive end.
When the Celtics loaded up their roster this offseason to bolster their starting lineup, someone was naturally going to have to sacrifice.
Roughly a quarter into the season, Jrue Holiday is the player that’s sacrificed the most, at least in comparison to past production. The 15-year veteran guard is putting up some of the lowest numbers of his career so far this season. His 12.2 points per game and 10.9 shots per game are the lowest he’s put up in both areas since his rookie season. His 17.2 usage percentage is the lowest of his career.
Not only are those numbers among the lowest in Holiday’s career, but they’re also a notable dropoff from his stats from last season. His 19.3 points per game with the Bucks last season was the second-highest mark of his career while his shot attempts per game (15.3) and usage percentage (25 percent) were among the five highest marks of his career.
But Holiday is OK making that sacrifice, especially when you look at the Celtics’ record and place in the Eastern Conference standings.
“I think it’s been good,” Holiday told reporters Friday when asked about his fit on the Celtics through the first quarter of the year. “We’re winning games. I feel like that’s what matters to me: whatever I can do to help and be out there on the court. If it’s 30 minutes or if it’s 40 minutes, then it doesn’t matter to me.
“We’ve been winning games and been trying to piece things together, especially in games like Indy (on Monday) or Orlando (on Nov. 24). But yeah, I think it’s been going great.”
While Holiday has sacrificed his scoring, he’s found ways to make up for it in other areas. The most noteworthy is grabbing a career-high 7.2 rebounds per game in addition to his 5.1 assists per game (second-highest on the team).
Holiday’s 117.4 offensive rating is also among the highest on a Celtics team that ranks eighth in offensive rating this season, proving that he’s at least fitting in well enough on that end of the court.
Holiday said that the Celtics’ offensive game plan to attack weaker defenders and find mismatches isn’t anything new for him, but there is something different that’s allowed him to swallow the pill of not taking as many shots.
“I guess the part that’s new is having so many great pieces on the court at once. I think, when somebody usually guards me, it’s one of the better defenders,” Holiday said. “And then, they’ll put not the best defender on [Derrick White], which I’m like, that’s a little bit of disrespect to D-White because he can go, he can play. He’s playing well. When he gets downhill, he gets to the free-throw line. He can shoot the 3.
“I understand it. This game is about mismatches and getting advantages.”
Holiday’s offensive output could stand to improve, even if he’s still putting up a similar amount of shots per game. He’s shooting 45.6 percent from within the arc, which is a steep drop from
“Just looking at it to go in. Just looking at it to fall,” Holiday said of his shots around the rim. “I think around the basket, a couple of them just rimmed in and out. But it’s about touch. I’m in here every day working on it. So, it’ll fall.”
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