Celtics Guard Jrue Holiday Due After Boston’s Undefeated Homestand?

The Boston Celtics regained the top spot in the Eastern Conference after a 5-0 breeze of a homestand, although there’s always room to push the ceiling further, right?

While settling in to create one of the NBA’s most dangerous backcourts — in terms of defense — alongside Derrick White, Jrue Holiday hasn’t found the offensive groove up to his standard. Granted, playing on a stacked Boston roster means sacrifices will need to hit everyone from top to bottom, but in knowing what Holiday’s offensive arsenal consists of, it’s easy to assume the Celtics haven’t tapped the full potential of what the two-time All-Star can be on a night-to-night basis.

Now 25 games into the campaign, Holiday’s taken the fewest shot attempts since his rookie year (10.7), averaging 12.3 points while shooting 44.5% from the field — Holiday’s lowest since his fourth year in the NBA. Not his sharpest, but it does leave plenty of room for improvement.

Looking from afar this isn’t a major blemish in what the Celtics are looking to build. They’ve got the star power plus the team-first attitude needed to put aside the many daunting memories of Boston’s previous playoff runs in recent years, but that’s no reason to get content.

After scoring 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting with six rebounds and five assists against the New York Knicks to begin the recent homestand, Holiday proved that there’s more — much more — to his bag than what’s been showcased. Although, that’s not his motivating force when taking the floor each night.

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“We’re winning games. I feel like that’s what matters to me,” Holiday said, according to Bobby Manning of CLNS Media. “Whatever I can do to help and be out there on the court. Whether it’s 30 minutes, if it’s 40 minutes, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Holiday is a proven and established stud on both ends of the floor. Not to mention, he’s also a NBA Finals champ, winning in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks, the type Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens envisioned when swapping Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III to put Holiday in a Boston uniform during the offseason.

In some instances, that could put an unfair amount of pressure on Holiday’s shoulders when taking into account the hefty investment put forth by the front office. On the other hand, the track record speaks for itself: The Celtics have yet to see the best of Holiday.

As far as the starting lineup is concerned, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and White have managed to mesh well on the offensive end, each getting their own. But the same can’t be said for Holiday.

At times, Holiday appears almost timid. The aggressiveness is toned down a bit from what it was in Milwaukee and the shots aren’t going up nearly as much, which isn’t what the Celtics expected or need going forward.

Boston’s already established itself as one of the top dogs, not just in the East but in the NBA, and one can only imagine how much further that can go with Holiday peaking in a Celtics uniform.