Anthony Davis is great, but Jrue Holiday determines the Pelicans’ ceiling
By Collin Huguley
It’s no secret that superstar power forward Anthony Davis is New Orleans’ most valuable player. Davis posts 28.3 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season and has carried the Pelicans to the fifth-place spot in the Western Conference after DeMarcus Cousins was lost for the season with an achilles injury.
The player that sets the ceiling of the Pelicans is not Davis, though, but the team’s lead guard.
27-year-old Jrue Holiday has quietly enjoyed a career season while spending most of his time at shooting guard this season. The offseason signing of point guard Rajon Rondo forced Holiday to move from the point guard spot permanently, and he’s responded to the move by putting up a career-high 19.0 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per contest.
Not only has Holiday emerged as a very good second scoring option behind Davis, his presence on the court has proven to be extraordinarily valuable for the Pelicans. Holiday leads the team in plus-minus on the season at 3.2 and leads all Pelicans starters in net rating at 4.6.
The addition of Rondo forced Holiday out of the position that he has played for his entire NBA career, but the move appears to be maximizing his playmaking ability. Holiday has maintained strong assist numbers while scoring at a much higher rate than he has previously in his career.
Even with Rondo’s current absence due to a wrist injury, Holiday is still thriving. He posted a triple double in Tuesday’s loss to Portland with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists while going head-to-head with Portland star point guard Damian Lillard.
Holiday is far from the level of player that Davis is, but his emergence this season has been crucial to the success of the Pelicans. With a thin, subpar backcourt that includes Rondo, E’Twaun Moore and Ian Clark, Holiday’s effective play becomes even more important for the Pelicans to compete with the Western Conference’s other dynamic backcourts.
If the Pelicans are to continue winning games, maintain a solid playoff seeding and make noise once the postseason begins, Holiday must continue to play at a high level.
