For the first time in his 13-year career, Jrue Holiday did not have an answer on the defensive side of the floor while covering a player one-on-one. But it was Jimmy Butler, who outplayed the Bucks guard.
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Now, if Playoff Jimmy had your number it’s not as embarrassing. But being the best defensive guard in the NBA, fans and experts must have expected the him to do better after getting scored on 35, 25, and 30 points in the first 3 games of the first round series.
However, Jimmy Buckets went for 56 and 42 points in the next two games to clinch the series against the 2021 champions. Maybe that was too much for the 6ft 5’ stalwart to take in.
Jrue Holiday felt strongly about retiring in 2 years
In an episode of the Point Forward podcast with Andre Iguodala that he came on in 2022, Holiday opened up about a conversation with his wife about calling it a day.
“‘Are you serious, after this contract, are you serious about retiring?’” Jrue revealed his discussion with his wife about retirement. “I feel very strongly about it.”
This video started running the rounds of internet recently after Jrue’s failure to stop Butler. Holiday still has 2-years and over $72 million left on his current Bucks contract. He should not make any decision based on the recent result.
There’s probably nothing Jrue could have done apart from his usual drills of cutting the passing lane or guessing the plays before they happen, which he does better than any defender in the NBA.
If he does retire, Jrue will be going out as one of the best two-way guards of all-time
Holiday might have just 2 All-Star selections and 4x All-Defensive Team selections to show for it, but he would go down as a Hall-of-Famer nonetheless.
His career averages of 16.5 points, 4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game might be the reason he stayed under the radar for most regular season awards.
But by simple eye-test you can see he is always the best on-ball and off-ball defender against any player and any team on most nights.
This one series will not define Jrue’s legacy like it wouldn’t for Giannis. It was already defined in 2021 when he did more than enough against Kevin Durant and the Nets and Devin Booker and the Suns.
