New Orleans’ marketing slogan during the 2017-18 regular season was “Do It Big,” something that could apply to what Jrue Holiday provided on-court, in a variety of ways. A 6-foot-4 combo guard who shifted over to the “two” position this season, Holiday played far bigger defensively than his height, frequently matching up against forwards when the situation called for it (such as when he was assigned to Kevin Durant for chunks of a key April 7 win at Golden State).
Holiday finished third among all NBA guards in total blocked shots (64), contributing valuable help defense by covering extra ground and denying opponents at the rim. On a team that features elite shot-blocker Anthony Davis, Holiday came up with two of the most memorable rejections of the campaign March 27 vs. Portland. The UCLA product improbably chased down Damian Lillard’s fast-break layup, then stoned Pat Connaughton as the reserve tried to seal a Blazers road win with a dunk.
“I have a lot of respect for what Jrue can do at both ends,” Portland’s Terry Stotts said before that game. “Defensively, he has good length, good size, strength, good instincts, good hands, all those things. Offensively, he can shoot it, he can drive it. He’s a big reason why (the Pelicans) are where they are right now.”
That’s particularly true in terms of how much New Orleans improved in close games, with Holiday spearheading the Pelicans to numerous dramatic victories. New Orleans went 7-2 in overtime games, including an active six-game win streak that began with consecutive extra-time victories at New York and Boston in mid-January. Holiday finished seventh in the NBA in clutch-time total points (133, Davis was sixth at 140), featuring 50.5 percent shooting from the field. Every other player ahead of Holiday on the clutch points list was an All-Star, including MVP candidates such as Davis, LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan and Kyrie Irving.
“We don’t have one guy that we have to depend on down the stretch,” Alvin Gentry said of the importance of Holiday’s late-game production. “The fact that Jrue can do it, he’s done it before for us, and he seems to get more comfortable with it.”
While dealing with injuries over parts of multiple seasons, along with New Orleans making the playoffs just once in his first four years in the Crescent City, Holiday hasn’t received many individual accolades as a Pelican. That could change this spring, with players and coaches taking note of how instrumental Holiday has been during New Orleans’ best season in nearly a decade.
“I’ve always said if there was a second-half All-Star Game, he’d definitely be in it,” Pelicans forward Solomon Hill noted. “He’s definitely making a case to be on an All-NBA team as well.”
“I don’t know of anybody out there who is a better defender than Jrue over the course of the year,” Gentry said. “I’d be very surprised if he didn’t make the All-Defensive team.”