The Boston Celtics welcomed Jrue Holiday with open arms during the offseason, jumping on the first opportunity to acquire the veteran guard after the Milwaukee Bucks showed him the door.
Instead, the Bucks valued star power, adding seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers. On paper, pairing Lillard with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sounds like a no-brainer, right? At least, that’s how Milwaukee viewed it, especially with Antetokounmpo dishing out concerning comments threatening the Bucks star from fleeing in search of a new destination.
That didn’t happen, but what did go down was an early-season switch in both Boston and Milwaukee, directly attributed to Holiday’s change in scenery.
“He’s such a special person and means so much to me and obviously the team and the city,” former Bucks teammate Brook Lopez said, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s definitely not going to be just like playing any other previous teammate. It’s definitely going to be different.”
For the first time since being traded twice this past offseason, Holiday will share the floor with the Bucks, not as teammates, but as rivals. Boston hosts the Bucks on Wednesday night, marking the first time both Eastern Conference contenders go toe-to-toe this season.
Granted, the Celtics have only played 14 games thus far, but the proof is in the pudding: Holiday’s created a double-sided impact that’s uplifted the Celtics and exposed the Bucks.
When Milwaukee was led by then-head coach Mike Budenholzer, the emphasis on defense was evident. It was a key component to the identity of any Budenholzer team and a huge reason why the Bucks won the 2021 NBA Finals and reached the East semifinals the following year.
“It’s going to be really strange,” Antetokounmpo explained, per Owczarski. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to do what you gotta do. It’s going to be strange seeing one of my brothers playing in a different jersey, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. It’s going to be weird for him to see us playing against us, too. We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes.”
That wouldn’t have been possible without Holiday anchoring that effort.
A three-time All-Defensive First Team and three-time NBA Teammate of the Year, Holiday ranks first in blocks (one) and second in rebounds among all guards (7.4) — behind 6-foot-7 Luka Doncic (eight).
That addition of versatility on both ends of the floor has been a picture-perfect fit to an already elite — but at times, very imperfect — Celtics offense and a defense that began the season in need of a re-established identity.
The Celtics have reached back into that same defensive effort under then-head coach Ime Udoka, that made up for their — at times — flawed offensive runs. The defensive identity that propelled Boston to its first NBA Finals appearance since 2008, and needs to return in order to get the organization back on track this go-around.
Boston has the best net rating in the NBA (10.6) and the third-best defensive rating (107) while Milwaukee is ranked ninth (three) and 24th (115.4) respectively in both departments. It’s clear that Holiday’s elite defensive impact and Lillard’s inability to fill that void left in Milwaukee leaves more work to be done for the Bucks in terms of adjustments.
In the playoffs, having that already set defensive identity could make or break any run to the finals.
So far, the Celtics have an opportunity to establish themselves and continue punishing the Bucks for their blockbuster swap aimed at besting Boston’s several made by president of basketball operations Brad Stevens.
For now, we’ll patiently await how it impacts Boston and Milwaukee’s presumed run at the No. 1 seed in the East.
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