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Jrue Holiday Discusses Celtics Opening Night, Teaming with Rajon Rondo, and Uplifting Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
An intense training camp that included multiple two-a-day sessions is in the books. So is a preseason where the Celtics went 3-1 and got plenty of in-game reps for their top-six players.
"I think we're locked in, especially in practice, and we try to win every day," expressed Jrue Holiday after Sunday's practice at the Auerbach Center. "So, coming in here and trying to get better is something that obviously helps us prepare for each game."
As Boston readies for opening night and its showdown against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Oct. 25, focusing on maximizing each day is helping the team stay present rather than getting preoccupied with its ultimate goal.
That includes Holiday building chemistry with his new teammates and figuring out how to play off and best support them.
When it comes to finding his offense, the two-time All-Star conveyed, "Honestly, whenever it comes. We know that JB and JT are our guys. We know KP is a threat out there, too, with his scoring ability. So, for me, it's about setting them up. But at the same time, maybe it makes it easier for me to score because they're always going to be locked in on them. There's gonna be times when sometimes it gets a little stagnant, and maybe I do need to go to the line or get into the paint, try to get to the free throw line, and make something happen."
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Regarding the need for cultivating that on-court chemistry to win a championship, Holiday is "not really sure how you make it work if you don't have that chemistry. I think being able to know guys' tendencies, being able to know where they like the ball and where they like to catch it, being able to know where you're supposed to be if they go somewhere with their vision, where they like to see and pass the ball, it's just about making it easier for the next person."
One way the six-four guard will boost the Celtics' offense is his ability to capitalize on the size and strength advantages he often has, parlaying those traits into low-post baskets, which can help Boston quickly end scoring droughts.
Like Jayson Tatum, Holiday's been working on his low-post game with assistant coach Sam Cassell, who, at six-foot-three, was one of the bigger guards in the league when he played.
"I'm a bigger guard, there's gonna be a lot of times where I have a smaller guard on me because there's JT, there's JB, and there's KP, I'm gonna have smaller guys on me, so, really just playing at the post is gonna be big, maybe getting fouls, getting to my fade, (and my) jump hook."
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Also, Holiday told Inside The Celtics the following about when he shared the backcourt with Rajon Rondo on the New Orleans Pelicans. His comments come on the heels of the latter saying the former is one of his favorite teammates he ever played with.
"He made us go. That was one of the times where I played off-ball, and (I) got to learn from one of the best to do it, playing with him as a point guard.
"There's a lot of times where people will come and talk about how we'd come and do kind of like this pistol screen, and Rondo would just dime you and like be picking people apart. To this day, they still talk about (it), people still come up to me. So, playing with him, obviously (he's) one of my favorite players; watching him, growing up as a Laker fan, watching him beat the Lakers, and then actually getting a chance to play with one of the best point guards ever was like a dream come true for me."
Further Reading
Jaylen Brown Teams with Johnny Cupcakes to Give Back to Boston
Rajon Rondo Latest Former Celtic to Spend Time with C's
Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Hornets: Boston's Ready for Regular Season
Celtics Embracing Sacrifice in Championship Pursuit: 'Have to Buy into That'
The Latest on Celtics' Extension Talks with Derrick White
Al Horford Shares Where Kristaps Porzingis Has Impressed Him Most
Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present
