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Tyrese Haliburton pointed to the obvious when asked about Jrue Holiday after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. “He’s the best defender in the NBA,” the All-Star guard declared. “He has been for a long time.” Haliburton wasn’t far off.
Holiday was named to his sixth All-Defensive team on Tuesday. Among active guards, only Chris Paul has been chosen to more. Holiday was the primary matchup on Haliburton in Game 1, and while Indiana’s floor general largely played well, Holiday came away with three huge steals. With the Pacers trailing by one with just over one minute remaining in overtime, Holiday’s forced turnover allowed Jayson Tatum to push the lead to four on a 3-pointer and effectively seal the win. Even now, with his 34th birthday mere weeks away, Holiday remains one of the NBA’s very best defenders.
But the Celtics have plenty of great defenders, and others like Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III are no longer part of this team because defense has never really been the issue in the postseason. Where things tend to go haywire is on the offensive end. At their worst, the Celtics devolve into an offense that mindlessly jacks up 3-pointers and turns the ball over because they cannot generate easier shots. This is where Holiday came in so handy against the Pacers in Game 1. While his 4-of-8 3-point shooting was obviously critical, it was his ability to create points near the rim against weaker defenders that saved the Celtics on Tuesday.
The word “weaker” is literal here. Holiday was just too big and too strong for most of Indiana’s perimeter players. Just look at how easily he seals for position against Haliburton before the ball even arrives.
The next time Haliburton is confronted with Holiday in the post, he has no choice but to foul.
Ben Sheppard wasn’t any better.
T.J. McConnell is quite good defensively against most guards, but he’s practically invisible to Holiday at his size.
This has been a problem for the Pacers for some time now. Last season, Holiday scored 51 points in a March game against Indiana because…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/celtics-vs-pacers-jrue-holidays-bully-ball-offense-poses-an-unsolvable-problem-for-indiana-defenders/
Author : Sam Quinn
Publish date : 2024-05-22 15:02:06
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