Jrue Holiday averaged 12.5 points in the regular season, his first with the Boston Celtics, but has come up big in the playoffs, including his 26-point, 11-rebound performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
BOSTON — This moment is exactly why the Boston Celtics went out and got Jrue Holiday.
When Brad Stevens, the president of basketball operations, and the rest of the front office sat down after last season to piece together their next steps following the Eastern Conference finals loss to Miami, a question hovered over them.
How much were they willing to shake up the core of a team that lost in the NBA Finals in 2022, then came up a game short of returning the following season?
In the end they opted to swing big, trading longtime point guard Marcus Smart as part of a deal that netted 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis. Then, after Milwaukee traded Holiday to Portland to get Damian Lillard, the Celtics pounced, dealing Malcolm Brogdon, the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, and big man Robert Williams III to get Holiday.
The bold moves have proven exactly what the Celtics needed, helping produce a 64-win regular season, a romp through the first three rounds of the playoffs and a 2-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
The defensive-minded Holiday limited Kyrie Irving, and added a 26-point, 11-rebound effort Sunday night that helped Boston salvage a 105-98 Game 2 victory — the latest example that Holiday is exactly where he is meant to be.
“I think that this is what was supposed to happen. And I’m glad that I’m here and I’m glad that I’m in this moment,” Holiday said prior to the start of the Finals.
“(Celtics Coach) Joe Mazzulla has talked about that a lot, especially this season is being in the moment, and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”
Part of what’s made the 33-year-old Holiday so effective for the Celtics is his willingness to adapt his game to fill whatever his team has needed this season.
A No. 3 scoring option in Milwaukee behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton during the Bucks’ 2020-21 championship season, Holiday has accepted being the fourth or fifth option in Boston.
His 12.5 points-per-game average this regular season was the lowest since his rookie season.
But there have been times, such as in Game 2, when the Mavericks doubled up on Jayson Tatum, put more pressure on Jaylen Brown and Porzingis struggled, that Holiday was forced to increase his output.
He’s done it while maintaining intensity on defense. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive second team. It was the sixth time he was picked for the first or second team in his career.
Holiday believes it’s a byproduct of the collective unity the team has been building throughout the season.
“I think when you sacrifice together and you do something together, it brings you closer,” he said. “I think being able to go through wins and losses and to build something, it means a lot. … From (roster spots) 1 to 15, somebody’s sacrificed something.”
Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, left, and Jayson Tatum, right, played together with USA Basketball, a relationship that helped Holiday adjust to playing in Boston. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
Part of what’s helped ease Holiday’s transition to Boston has been the familiarity he already had with Tatum, with whom he played alongside on the 2020 U.S. Olympic basketball team that captured the gold medal in Tokyo.
Tatum said that relationship made periodic check-ins he had at times this season with Holiday easier.
“I would just check in or always remind him to be yourself and, we’re going to need you in big moments, obviously like (Game 2),” Tatum said.
It’s allowed Holiday to play to his strengths, most notably his ability to bring a measure of calm to the court in Mazzulla’s controlled chaos.
Holiday’s also been able to provide stability in crunch time for a team that in recent playoff runs sometimes wilted in those moments, often attempting to lean on one-on-one play or committing turnovers.
And while a player such as Smart was a dominant alpha on the court, Holiday knows what it’s like to play alongside a star such as Antetokounmpo, and coax the best out of them.
Asked to imagine what position the Celtics might be in without Holiday, Tatum didn’t want to entertain the thought.
“Good thing we don’t have to find out,” he said.
No matter what happens over the remainder of the Finals, this won’t be a one season-and-done stop for Holiday, who signed a four-year extension in April.
“From here on it’s like – I’m supposed to be here,” Holiday said. “And I’m supposed to be with my teammates. And we’re supposed to do this together.”
But there’s only one way he’ll feel as if his arrival in Boston can be deemed a success.
“It’s been great and the journey’s been awesome, but at the end of the day the job is not done,” he said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Comments are no longer available on this story