{"id":128901,"date":"2025-03-16T11:46:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T15:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=128901"},"modified":"2025-03-16T11:46:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T15:46:26","slug":"jrue-holiday-responding-jaylen-brown-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/16\/jrue-holiday-responding-jaylen-brown-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Jrue Holiday is Responding to His Teammate’s Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

After being sidelined for a week with a troubling finger injury<\/a>, Jrue Holiday<\/a> has been back on the court for five games. During these five games, Holiday has been very impressive and notably more aggressive. Holiday elevating his level of play certainly improves the Boston Celtics’ title chances<\/a>. Additionally, three weeks ago, Holiday’s teammate Jaylen Brown<\/a> called for Jrue to be more aggressive. Let’s dive into Holiday’s recent play and how he is answering Brown’s call.<\/p>\n

Jrue Holiday is Responding to Jaylen Brown’s Challenge<\/h2>\n

For the season, Holiday is averaging 11 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 44.5\/34.3\/90 shooting splits. Over the last five games<\/a>, Holiday is averaging 12.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. This includes a season-high 25-point (five threes) outing in a win against the Miami Heat and a 12-assist performance in a win over the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Holiday’s 25 points are a Celtics’ regular season career-high<\/a>, his 15 field goal attempts were the second highest of the season and his 12 were also a season-high<\/a>. Holiday was the Celtics’ most consistent and efficient offensive option against the Heat, shooting 66 percent from the field and 62 percent from three. He is answering Brown’s challenge, and the Celtics are benefiting from it. Holiday’s recent play is even more impressive since he’s coming off an injury. In Brown’s original comments<\/a>, three weeks ago he said the following regarding Holiday’s aggressiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to go where we want to go, we need Jrue to be a dog… We need Jrue to be more aggressive. I need Jrue to be more aggressive because when he\u2019s in that mode \u2014 that attack mode \u2014 I think we\u2019re better than when he\u2019s kind of sitting back, taking a back seat…When Jrue and (Derrick White) are aggressive, it\u2019s a good sign for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown’s leadership often inspires his teammates, and his comments are backed up with plenty of evidence. In his time with the Celtics, including the playoffs when Holiday scores 14 or more points, Boston has an incredible 50-3 record. Holiday’s scoring aggression was on full display during the Celtics’ dominant championship run in 2024, which included a 26-point performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and a 28-point outing in the Eastern Conference Finals. \u00a0Throughout his career, Holiday has mainly been a second option, however, he has bought into a crucial yet smaller role with the Celtics. Nevertheless, when Holiday is scoring at a high level, the Celtics are even more dangerous.<\/p>\n

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Crazy Jrue Holiday stat for you:<\/p>\n

The Celtics are 50-3 all time when Holiday scores 14+ points (9-0 in the Postseason) pic.twitter.com\/QwLazeWAeH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) March 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n