Jrue Holiday dazzles vs Indiana Pacers and provides blueprint for younger Pacers development
On Wednesday, Milwaukee Bucks All-Star guard Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 points against the Indiana Pacers. He dominated the game on both ends and led the Bucks to an easy win.
"I'd like somebody to name five other basketball players that are better than Jrue Holiday," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. "Guy's an amazing player on both sides of the ball."
Holiday is a two-time All-Star, and his wife Lauren was born in Indianapolis. His two brothers, Justin and Aaron, both played for the Pacers for multiple seasons. Despite never playing for Indiana, Jrue Holiday has some ties to the state and franchise.
He's played well against the Pacers for years. His 17.7 points per game average against the blue and gold is his sixth-best number against a specific opponent, and Holiday has added 4.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game on top of that. The Pacers haven't been able to slow him down, and that doesn't even account for Holiday's top tier defense.
On Wednesday, he finished with 51 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in perhaps his best-ever regular season game. Milwaukee crushed Indiana and kept their place atop the Eastern Conference.
Carlisle had nothing but positive things to say about the two-time All-Star's play after the game, and he even shared what he thought some of his younger players could learn from the Bucks' ball handler.
"Just his professional approach. It's old school. It has nothing to do with social media. It's just about love and respect for the game and competing at the highest possible level," Carlisle said. "That's what the guy does. It's no frills, high-level winning basketball."
The Bucks are 135-55 with Holiday available since trading for him in November of 2020, and they won the 2021 NBA Finals with the veteran on the squad. He's been vital to their success in the past three seasons.
That is a culmination of Holiday's growth during his career. He developed from a bench player to an All-Star in Philadelphia early in the NBA, and he improved into a world class defender with New Orleans. Now, he's a premier talent on both ends, and other NBA players rate him highly.
"I've been saying it for a long time, I think Jrue is the best two-way player, at least guard, in the league," Pacers forward Jordan Nwora said. Nwora and Holiday were teammates for a few seasons with the Bucks. "He can score on offense and he's one of the best defenders I've ever seen," he added, noting that he wasn't surprised to see Holiday drop more than 50 points.
That type of player, one who is all business and is excellent on both ends, is who the Pacers hope their young guards can become. Andrew Nembhard, specifically, seems to have a strong starting point of skills to develop into a Holiday-type player, though any younger Pacers guard — Bennedict Mathurin, Tyrese Haliburton, and Chris Duarte — could learn something from the All-Star.
When Nembhard was asked what he could take from the impactful guard, he didn't mince words. "Shit. Damn near everything," he said while reading a box score. "He scores from all levels. He knows how to use his body really well on both sides of the floor. Guards everybody's best player. He's really talented, did a really good job."
Nembhard, to his credit, had a career high 15 assists in that game and has grown significantly as a point guard recently. He's been given more opportunities to shine as a ball handler, and he has taken advantage.
Given his defensive prowess as a rookie, Nembhard seems like the young Pacers guard with the most likely path toward growing him into a Holiday-like player. Every developing player on Indiana's roster could take something from the All-Star's game, but Nembhard's skillset right now mirrors the Bucks' guard the most.
The Pacers rookie thinks that he and Holiday have respect for one another's talents given their few interactions. And he is hoping to get some practice time with the 50-point scorer over the summer.
"I would love to talk to him in the summer and maybe I can catch him out somewhere and maybe work out with him," Nembhard said.
Holiday's defensive prowess and mentality would benefit any Pacer. His offensive talent would be the icing on the cake for Indiana's youngsters. He is a tremendous player on and off the court, which is why Carlisle gave him so much praise, and it's why the Pacers should study him going forward.
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