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Jennifer Hale is a member of the Fox Sports New Orleans Pelicans broadcast team

Wow – it is so difficult to choose just one favorite memory from such an amazing season where this team grew and fought and triumphed after learning to persevere as a family.

However, the first one that jumps to mind has little to do with basketball: watching Jrue and his daughter JT on the court pregame almost brought me to tears. It’s why I love home games the most – just to get to see them together.

Obviously, JT loves her dad and basketball so much! Watching her, knowing she’s healthy, knowing Lauren is healthy – after all that family has been through - how could it not be my favorite memory?

The strength, faith and love Jrue and Lauren carried themselves with through this entire ordeal is awe-inspiring. It inspires me to want to be better and do more for others. Every time JT helps her dad warmup before the game,  I get chills and am reminded what life is really all about. 

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A memorable season: Jennifer Hale's favorite moment from 2017-18 Pelicans season

Jim Eichenhofer

1)      Only four home games remain in the regular season for New Orleans (31-43), including tonight’s game in the Smoothie King Center vs. Dallas (31-42). Tickets are available here. DeMarcus Cousins (right ankle sprain) is listed as questionable on the team's injury report.

2)      The Pelicans have a total of eight games remaining, but are five games out of eighth place in the Western Conference, now trailing No. 8 Portland (36-38). Denver (35-39) is in ninth, while Dallas (31-42) is 10th. A Pelicans win tonight over the Mavericks would reduce the deficit behind the Trail Blazers to 4.5 games, with Portland next hosting Houston on Thursday in a TNT matchup. If Portland goes 4-4 or better the rest of the way, the Pelicans will be eliminated, regardless of their finish.

3)      Watch a “Lean In” video on Jrue Holiday and his wife Lauren.

4)      Watch our Pelicans Plays of the Week video.

5)      Check out the latest "60 Quick Seconds" video in a series of them, this one featuring dance team member Jenna.

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Five things to know about the Pelicans on March 29, 2017

Jrue Holiday was the center of attention during a 10-minute press conference Thursday that marked his official return to the New Orleans Pelicans, but like the point guard he is – averaging 6.0-plus assists for four straight seasons – he really just wanted to talk about others.

Holiday spent the session thanking family, friends, fans, the New Orleans organization, teammates and coaches for their overwhelming support while he and Lauren dealt with what Jrue described as a stressful and difficult period. Lauren, a former USA women’s soccer star, was diagnosed with a brain tumor this summer midway through her pregnancy. In October, she gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, then had successful brain surgery to remove the tumor.

With Lauren now doing well and recovering from the procedure and baby Jrue a happy and healthy 1-month-old, the first-time father made the decision to rejoin the Pelicans this week. He will make his 2016-17 season debut Friday, when they host the Portland Trail Blazers.

The seven-year NBA veteran said the decision to return came as a result of knowing that Lauren and the baby are doing well. Although Lauren has multiple family members nearby to help out in any way, the point guard felt it was important that Lauren get to where she could handle everything she needs to do as a brand-new mom.

“She can take care of herself and my daughter,” he said. “She can take care of me, too. That’s big, especially for someone who is a mother now, and someone who went through what she went through. She needed people after the surgery, and she needed me after the surgery. But (now) if she needs to, she can take care of herself.

“(What predicated the timing to return) was really just to see where my wife was in her recovery. Since she’s doing so well and my daughter is getting bigger, and since my family and her family are there to help her out with whatever it is, I just feel comfortable being back. As hard as it is (to be away from them), I’m really excited.”

The Los Angeles native was wowed by the staggering amount and daily consistency of prayers and positivity he and his wife received during the ordeal. The Pelicans immediately told Holiday to take as much time as he needed to be with his wife, regardless of any basketball implications. On several occasions Thursday, the 26-year-old expressed his gratitude for teammates and coaches – many of whom have visited the Holidays in North Carolina – as well as the organization for their role over the past few months.

“(I feel) blessed, man,” he said. “Blessed to have my family back and OK. Everyone is doing well. So blessed for the support from the team – I can’t even explain how much they were there for me and my family, through anything. Anything we needed, they were there for us. It was unbelievable.

“I’m so excited. Going through a hard time, my teammates were always there for me. My teammates and the Pelicans were always there. To come back and fight for them, like they supported me, I’m happy to do it.”

Holiday said there was initial shock when he first heard the news about Lauren’s brain tumor, which coincided with her pregnancy. Months later, he is ecstatic to know that mom and daughter are both healthy and doing well. Lauren is in the initial stages of rehabilitation following surgery.

“It’s obviously hard to take in, especially (to happen to) someone so strong, so athletic, who’s always been healthy,” Jrue said of Lauren. “For that to happen obviously is a shock at first, but through it, we just stayed with our faith, kept praying and praying that the surgeons could handle the tumor like they did.

“(Now) she has to start rehabbing and things like that. Obviously when (physicians) go into your brain, there are things that happen where you might feel weird for a minute, but from there, she is going to take care of my daughter and take care of herself as well.”

Holiday called the experience of becoming a new father a life-changing one, something he’d been told about by friends, but that he couldn’t fully grasp until it happened to him.

“Oh my gosh,” he said, when asked about seeing his baby daughter for the first time. “I haven’t experienced anything like it. All the (other teammates and players who are fathers) and friends who have kids told me that it changes your life. It does. Especially having a baby girl – she’s beautiful.”

As is the case for all professional athletes who have youngsters, Holiday’s upcoming travel schedule will often make it impossible to see his wife and daughter in person, but he’ll use FaceTime and other new technology to communicate with Lauren and see his baby girl. With a wide grin Thursday, he summed up his current perspective after what his family has been through recently.

“(It was) stressful,” he said. “(But) given the circumstances, my wife had a brain tumor removed, my daughter is OK and healthy. Through the outcome, they’re both OK. And I’m really happy.”

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Jrue Holiday thanks family, friends, supporters in his official return to Pelicans

1)      Glushon Sports Management released an update on Lauren and Jrue Holiday this weekend.

2)      Watch Sunday post-practice video interviews with Frazier, Anthony Davis and Alvin Gentry.

3)      Go “Off the Court” with Pelicans guard Tim Frazier.

4)      Every NBA team will be required to get down to a maximum of 15 players on its roster Monday, due to the annual leaguewide deadline. The Pelicans open the 2016-17 regular season Wednesday at home vs. Denver.

5)      In community news, the significant others of Pelicans players, coaches and front-office staff volunteered their time with veterans and homeless on Saturday.

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Five things to know about the Pelicans on Oct. 24, 2016

Pelicans.com

Glushon Sports Management released the following update on Jrue and Lauren Holiday earlier:

“Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and support for Lauren and Jrue Holiday over the last several months. I’d like to provide you with a quick update on what has happened over the last several weeks. In September, Lauren Holiday gave birth to Jrue Tyler Holiday. She weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces. She is healthy and at home with her family. In October, Lauren Holiday underwent surgery at Duke University Hospital to remove a brain tumor. She will continue to recover in North Carolina with her husband Jrue and daughter Jrue Tyler. During this time, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”

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Update on Jrue and Lauren Holiday

During his Media Day press conference Friday, Anthony Davis noted that the Pelicans have added another member to their family. The three-time All-Star power forward delivered the news that Lauren Holiday, wife of New Orleans point guard Jrue Holiday, gave birth to a healthy baby girl in North Carolina this week, the couple’s first child.

Now that Lauren has given birth, doctors say that she will undergo brain surgery in approximately six weeks, in order to remove a benign tumor. In the meantime, Jrue will remain by her side, missing an indefinite portion of the upcoming season.

“We don’t have a timetable on his return,” Pelicans GM Dell Demps said, when asked about Jrue’s status. “When the time is right, Jrue will come back to the team. We feel as an organization – led by the Bensons – that it’s most important for him to be a husband right now. For now, our hearts and prayers are with them, and we hope that Lauren has successful surgery.”

“Having Jrue there for support is very important,” echoed Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry. “In our case, we told Jrue to forget about the basketball part of it. This is where you take care of your family. We’re going to welcome him back whenever he feels that it’s time to come back, and his family is in good hands.”

Jrue won’t be able to play or practice with his teammates in the interim, but Davis and small forward Quincy Pondexter noted Friday that several Pelicans decided to visit Jrue over a two-day period earlier this month. The group worked out together and scrimmaged, likely the only way they’ll be able to spend time with the starting point guard before the rigorous NBA calendar begins this weekend.

“To see him and the spirits that he was in, it really made me that much more of a fan of his, because he and his wife are handling it really well,” Pondexter said. “He and his wife are amazing people. If you’ve got a chance to say a prayer for them, please do.”

“We thought it’d be a good idea to go see him, and take his mind off a lot of everything that’s going on,” Davis explained of the trip. “We thought it would help him and – I don’t want to say make the situation lighter, because there is nothing light about that situation – but just being around the team and some of the players, getting back playing with us, we thought would be good. It meant a lot to him. He had a ton of fun. He kept telling us that he definitely appreciated us coming there. It was good and I’m just glad we had a chance to see him for a couple days.”

“It was great to see him and be able to cheer him up,” center Alexis Ajinca said. “It was important for us to be there, because when someone is hurting in the family, you always have to have his back.”

Asked what his initial reaction was when he heard the news of Lauren’s brain tumor, Gentry said, “Understanding what they were going through, it was tough. But if you had to choose a person who had to deal with this and go through it, it would be Lauren Holiday. She’s a very, very tough individual.”

New Orleans will need to compensate for being without the ’13 NBA All-Star for an uncertain number of games, likely pushing some players into bigger roles and responsibilities. For now, the Pelicans are focused on trying to “hold down the fort,” in the words of guard Tim Frazier, who also joined teammates in visiting the Holidays on the East Coast.

“Any chance I had to go there and visit, I was ready to go,” Frazier said. “It was great to be able to go there and let him know that we’re thinking about him, and we’ll be excited for when he is able to get back.”

Want to see the Pelicans in person for free? Attend Wednesday's open practice.

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No timetable on return of Jrue Holiday, who with wife Lauren became new parents this week

There are things in life that are simply much bigger, and much more important, than a game. That’s a lesson the New Orleans Pelicans have seen reinforced first-hand this offseason.

On Memorial Day weekend, guard/forward Bryce Dejean-Jones died under tragic circumstances, shot and killed when he inadvertently tried to enter the wrong Dallas apartment, thinking that it was his girlfriend’s. The Pelicans recently learned that Lauren (Cheney) Holiday – wife of point guard Jrue Holiday – has a brain tumor that must be removed by doctors, but only after the former USA women’s soccer standout gives birth to the couple’s first child.

Jrue won’t be on the floor when the Pelicans open training camp Sept. 24, as he deals with a much more significant concern in North Carolina, but Lauren and Jrue will never be far from New Orleans players’ thoughts. After a recent voluntary workout in the team’s Metairie practice facility, several Pelicans discussed their admiration for the couple and how often they are thinking about the Holidays.

“We’re definitely praying for the whole family, especially Lauren, and hopefully everything comes out OK,” said power forward Anthony Davis, an All-Star in all three seasons he’s played with Jrue. “He’s our starting point guard and is probably going to miss some games at the beginning of the season, but that’s not important right now.”

As a fellow California native, small forward Quincy Pondexter, 28, has probably known Jrue, 26, longer than any member of the Pelicans, dating back to when they were both on the AAU circuit over a decade ago.

“We first played against each other in 2004 or 2005,” Pondexter recalled. “I remember days going home, telling my family, ‘That kid’s going to be an amazing player.’ He works hard, he’s a great person. I just wish him success for the rest of his life.

“At the end of the day, we’re family on this team. This goes beyond basketball. (The Holidays) are a beautiful family, great people, so you want to support them in any way possible. We just want to be there for our brother and his wife and family.”

“It’s a brother who is in need of support, for him and his wife,” center Alexis Ajinca said. “They’re going through a very rough thing right now. When someone is hurting in the family, you always want him to know you have his back.”

Since joining the Pelicans on a 10-day contract in March, point guard Tim Frazier has credited Jrue with helping him adjust to the team’s system and giving him valuable pointers. Frazier has leaned so heavily on Jrue that Frazier sometimes wonders if he’s started to overly badger Jrue with frequent queries.

“Even though I might be annoying sometimes asking him all these questions, any time I get a chance, I will seek his advice,” Frazier said, smiling. “He’s always been there for me. He was huge for me, especially in my 16 games here (at the end of 2015-16), and even now.”

Like many of his teammates, Frazier is staying in contact with Jrue partly through texting, keeping his teammate up to date on what’s happening in New Orleans. Even under the most difficult personal circumstances – and without being able to physically be on the court with the Pelicans right now – Frazier said the 2013 Eastern Conference All-Star will still make an invaluable contribution to the team.

“He’s always got some advice for me, to keep me going in the right direction,” said Frazier, a third-year pro who’s played for three NBA teams and had stints in the D-League. “Jrue has done some things that I want to do in my career. And I know he wants to continue to grow in his career. We both want the best things for the team, so any chance I get to hear what he’s thinking, I do that. He’s been so willing and able to teach tidbits to me and some of the other guys. It’s a testament to what kind of man he is.

“Just to see what they are going through and how they’re handling the situation, it’s unbelievable how strong they are. That’s someone you look up to, a man you want to be like, someone who’ll protect and be there for his family no matter. We’re praying for them and their entire family.”

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Pelicans players express admiration and support for Lauren and Jrue Holiday

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Lauren and Jrue Holiday Sports Clinic at UCLA

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