Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
NBA Insider Explains Why Celtics Might Utilize Jrue Holiday as Sixth Man
Let's start with what matters most: Jrue Holiday will be a fixture in the Boston Celtics' closing lineups this season.
Who's on the floor at the end of games matters more than who starts. For the C's, the five finishing matchups will primarily consist of Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis. Sometimes, whether due to foul trouble, matchup, or performance, Al Horford will join the group at another member's expense.
But when it comes to sorting out who the first five on the floor are, Boston has the luxury of possessing the best top six in the NBA.
At training camp, head coach Joe Mazzulla conveyed the following to Inside The Celtics about taking advantage of the flexibility that affords his team.
"I think we have to have a level of flexibility in order for us to maximize our roster on both ends of the floor. And I think flexibility and malleability and the ability to go to different matchups has to be a strength of ours. And so there will be a time where we say this is what we're doing. But I think (that) we have to be as open-minded as possible to play in those different ways."
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While the more commonly held sentiment is Holiday's a staple of Boston's starting lineups, even when the C's take the floor with Horford and Porzingis out there for the opening tip, on his Lowe Post Podcast, ESPN's Zach Lowe offered a different viewpoint, citing the newest member of the Celtics backcourt coming off the bench in Sunday's preseason opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.
"I don't think this was a one-off," stated Lowe. "I don't think this was a let's see how this looks. He may end up starting a ton of games. Injuries, nights off, matchups, just being so good that we have to start him. I think this has some legs potentially. And the reason I think it has legs (is) because they trotted it out in the first game. They didn't play great, but you could feel the spacing and the impact of a real quick trigger center with Kristaps Porzingis. I think they liked Tatum out, Holiday in with Jaylen Brown on the floor, because like the Curry on the bench minutes in Golden State, Tatum on the bench has been a problem now for a lot of years."
As the NBA insider went on to express, bringing Holiday off the bench makes it easier to manage the rotation and maximize minutes when giving Tatum a breather.
"I think they like the look and feel of having two All-Star perimeter ball handlers," Lowe said of playing Brown and Holiday together while Tatum rests. "Neither of them (is) a point guard by any means, one of them with sometimes the yips with the dribble, that's Jaylen Brown. Both (are) All-Star, All-NBA level players…let's see if they can prop up the offense along with Porzingis and good spacing. They are going to close games with Jrue Holiday on the floor. I think (bringing him off the bench) has some legs."
Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
What's unclear is how the two-time All-Star feels about that possibility. While he's surely prepared to sacrifice in pursuit of a championship, he's only come off the bench in 81 of his 906 career games.
Holiday offered the following about meshing with his new teammates after Boston's 114-106 win over the Sixers in the former UCLA Bruin's preseason debut in Kelly Green.
"I think it's just about time," the five-time All-Defensive Team selection said. "Time on the court. Getting a chance to play with them and see what's going to happen, see where I'm supposed to be and where I'm going to be getting the ball, and things like that. But real fun, glad I got to go out there and play."
Holiday's willingness to anchor the second unit is merely one factor in this equation. Examining the Celtics' second unit, with Payton Pritchard providing quality backcourt depth, the rotation seems stronger, in this author's opinion, with Horford backing up Porzingis.
While Luke Kornet's an effective third center, if he's the top big off that bench, that creates a need where there otherwise wouldn't be one with Porzingis and Horford healthy.
It's interesting food for thought, and Lowe's plugged in, but from this vantage point, as currently constructed, starting Holiday is more beneficial than making him the team's sixth man.
Further Reading
Details of Payton Pritchard's Extension with Celtics Revealed
Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. 76ers: Regulars Shine, Roster Battles Intensify
Oshae Brissett's Value to the Celtics on Full Display in Preseason
[Film Room] Lamar Stevens States Case for Celtics' Roster Spot
Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present
