Jrue Holiday

Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Holiday, Mazzulla, Scheierman

November 16th, 2024 at 6:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kristaps Porzingis continues to make progress after offseason surgery on his left leg and there’s hope that he might be able to return soon, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Porzingis underwent a procedure for a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in late June after the NBA Finals ended and was projected to miss five-to-six months. He appears to be right on schedule, as coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis has started doing some full-court one-on-five work with assistant coaches.

“I’m looking forward to him coming back,” said Jrue Holiday, who did some defensive work with Porzingis during Friday’s practice. “Even just doing little drills here with him today, he just makes the game so much easier with his length, being able to protect the rim. And then, obviously, offensively he just makes the game so much easier for everybody. Creating space for driving lanes or 3-point shots. Not being able to switch off of him, or when he gets a switch him being able to take advantage of that. Can’t wait for him to come back.”

Himmelsbach notes that Porzingis has tried to stay close to his teammates while he’s out of action. He has been accompanying the team on road trips and can frequently be heard shouting advice from the bench during games.

“I think that’s important, especially for a guy that’s not playing, to be as engaged as he is,” Mazzulla said. “It makes it easier for when he starts to come back and we’ll just plug him right in, because he’s been here the whole time. That’s a commitment. That’s hard to sit there day in and day out and do that. So I appreciate that he does that. I think it brings a level of professionalism and togetherness to our locker room, and it’s been fun to watch.”

There’s more from Boston:

The Celtics are coming off their first two-day break since the season began, so they were able to have their first practice session on Friday since the end of training camp, Himmelsbach adds. “I think we’re all professionals here,” Holiday said. “I think that watching film, either individually or as a team, does what it needs to do. But I do think having days where we can get on the court and actually run through it and kind of go through it in motion is obviously better. But I think we make it work.”
Holiday, who’s dealing with left knee tendinopathy, has been declared out for tonight’s game, the Celtics announced (via Twitter).
Rookie guard Baylor Scheierman is averaging 28.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in his first two games with the Maine Celtics, but Mazzulla views the G League experience as more than just putting up numbers, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “Getting on the G League schedule, having to perform every single night, having to compete every single night, just getting those like last night again and that could be really hard,” Mazzulla said. “So, just good to see him do that and then obviously just continue to execute the things on both ends of the floor that are important for the Celtics.”

Atlantic Notes: Schröder, Sixers, Holiday, Towns

October 28th, 2024 at 1:37pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Nets acquired guard Dennis Schröder at the trade deadline last season and he’s established himself as an efficient producer in Brooklyn. Across 32 outings with the Nets, he has averaged 15.2 points and 6.1 assists per game while connecting on 42.8% of his shots from beyond the arc. In just three games this season, he’s shooting a scorching 55.6% clip from three (6.0 attempts) and averaging 20.7 PPG as a full-time starter.

According to ClutchPoints’ Erik Slater (Twitter link), Schröder’s continues to signal that he’s interested in staying in Brooklyn long term.

“When I first got traded here, they texted my mom, texted my wife, sent them flowers,” Schröder said. “I love things like that. My teammates from the first day were talking to me, and they made me feel comfortable. That’s all you can ask for. The front office and all those guys, social media guys, everybody is just cool and making sure the players are straight. That’s the reason why I can see myself being here long-term.

“… But it’s a business at the same time, and whenever a decision is made, I just go with it and always remind myself that it’s the best league in the world. So it doesn’t matter where [I’m playing]. Even if I get traded, I always gotta see the positive side of it. But I want to stay here.”

Schröder is under contract through the rest of this season for about $13MM. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers are determining their identity without stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, writes The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. “We’ve got a lot of pulling it together, figuring out who we are and all that kind of stuff,” head coach Nick Nurse said before Sunday’s first victory of the season. “I know everybody wants to win yesterday, right? But understand, it’s not that easy to do.” Neither Embiid nor George are participating in five-on-five drills yet. Andre Drummond is holding down the middle with Embiid out, while players like KJ Martin, Jared McCain and Guerschon Yabusele have seen some extended run off the bench.
Boston swung for the fences last year by making moves to add Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, the latter of which came just before the season. The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes that the team’s faith in Holiday led to the Celtics‘ 18th title, and they’ll continue to rely on him in their efforts to repeat. “When Jrue’s at his best, he’s not thinking,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He’s just instinctually reacting and he can change a defensive possession and change an entire game.“
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau coached Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota, helping lead the Timberwolves to a playoff appearance that ended a 13-season drought in 2017-18. However, the Wolves got out to a 19-21 start in the following season and Thibodeau was out. Now, according to Newsday’s Barbara Baker, Thibodeau is excited about getting the chance to coach an older, wiser version of Towns. “You can have a player young in their career and they tend to want to get themselves established first,” Thibodeau said. “As they mature and get older, they realize it’s very difficult to do it individually. You have to do it collectively.“

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Scrubb, Walker, Davison

October 12th, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jayson Tatum was reluctant to go into specifics, but he admits he altered his shooting motion after struggling to make three-pointers during last season’s playoffs and the Summer Olympics, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Celtics star talked about “staying forward, keeping my shoulders forward” to get more power, but didn’t offer any further explanation. The changes seemed to work as he went 6-of-14 from beyond the arc in Boston’s preseason contests against Denver in Abu Dhabi.

“It was a couple of things,” Tatum responded when asked about his adjustments. “But I would just say the shot felt good. It felt good to be back on the court playing basketball again, being with the guys. We’ve still got a long road ahead but we had a good week out there and a good two preseason games.”

Tatum added that he’s very happy with his first seven NBA seasons, which have included five All-Star appearances, four All-NBA selections, an Eastern Conference Finals MVP, an All-Star MVP and a championship last season. He looked back on his training camp debut after the Celtics selected him with the third pick in the 2017 draft.

“Really just how different I am, how fast time has run by,” he said. “It makes me cherish these moments. I remember my first training camp in Rhode Island like it was yesterday. Now it’s Year 8. It’s made me reflect on all the things I’ve been able to accomplish since I’ve been with the team and in the NBA, made me kind of proud of myself, happy and hoping that these next eight years go by a little slower.”

There’s more from Boston:

Jay Scrubb was thrilled to return to the Celtics this week after missing all of last season with a torn ACL, Washburn adds. The 24-year-old guard was waived shortly after suffering the injury last October, but he remained in close contact with the team and was able to get another chance. With all three two-way slots already filled, Scrubb is likely to start the season with Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine. “It’s been a battle, I had a tough injury, had to bounce back but just work hard to get back to where I was at,” he said. “I pretty much knew this is where I wanted to be at. They took good care of me through my rehab process, so I felt like this would be the best place for me to come back.”
Lonnie Walker‘s decision to try to earn a roster spot in Boston on an Exhibit 10 contract was influenced by his longtime Celtics fandom and his connections with Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Walker and White were teammates in San Antonio, and he spent part of the offseason training with Holiday. “We just ended up working out together in the summer, kind of put in that grind, working. If it’s in the weight room or if it’s on the court,” Holiday said. “Just knowing the work ethic. He has the ability to do a lot of things. He’s very athletic and can score. I think being on a team like this, we can utilize his skill. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play here? … Very positive, very positive person. You see him. He’s always smiling. A very, very grateful dude. So really, really glad to have him here.”
Payton Pritchard can see improvement from JD Davison, who is entering his third straight season on a two-way contract, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “Every year, as long as he keeps making a step, he’ll have a very successful career,” Pritchard said. “He has a really good head on his shoulders too, so I expect big things from him in the future.”

Celtics Notes: Training Camp, Scheierman, Tatum, Cassell

September 28th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics are getting an early challenge from head coach Joe Mazzulla as they begin the defense of their NBA title, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Boston and Denver opened training camps this week in preparation for their games next Friday and Sunday in Abu Dhabi, and Jaylen Brown said the first practices have been intense.

“Training camp has been hard,” he said. “Training camp has been a lot of conditioning, a lot of defensive stuff, setting the tone on the defensive end, pushing ourselves. It’s been great. It’s exactly what we needed. We did not ease into training camp by no means. Joe Mazzulla is a psycho in a good way.”

It was a very short offseason for the Celtics, who closed out the NBA Finals a little more than three and a half months ago. It was even shorter for Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, who were part of Team USA in the Summer Olympics. Despite the brief break, the players seem ready to get back to business.

“I think it’s very, very mental,” Holiday said. “Obviously that’s where most of the game can be won. Concentration, doing things while you’re tired, playing without passing, playing without scoring. How do you win the mental game, I feel like, is the biggest part – if you’re tired physically or mentally. Again, he’s just throwing everything at us.”

There’s more from Boston:

The Celtics ordered Baylor Scheierman to add weight as he prepares for his first NBA season, Robb adds in a separate story. Scheierman reported to camp about 10-15 pounds heavier than he was in July. “I think from Summer League to now I spent a lot of time on my body, working on my body, trying to put on a lot of lean mass,” Scheierman said. “… Also just working on my shot, continuing to tune up things, try to get it off quicker.”
As Tatum predicted at media day, Mazzulla is hoping he’ll take extra motivation from not being named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals or NBA Finals and then being benched for much of the Olympics, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet, because of how much he works and how he’s willing to grow,” Mazzulla said. “So I thought it was great that he has something to work toward. Sometimes when you get success you don’t have that next hunger right in front of you. Sometimes you’ve got to wait for it. Sometimes it’s a loss; sometimes it’s a losing streak. He was able to get that right in front of him.”
Assistant coach Sam Cassell has experience in defending an NBA championship, Himmelsbach adds. Cassell was part of the Rockets team that won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. “I can tell you no one here is talking about repeating or trying to defend anything,” Cassell said. “It’s just a new year and a new season. We just want to go win a championship every year.”

Celtics Notes: Holiday, Walker, Bench, Front Office

August 31st, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is one of the NBA’s most accomplished players, but even he was impressed by the amount of talent on the U.S. Olympic team, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. Holiday, who has two gold medals and two NBA titles in the past four years, said this year’s Olympics was especially memorable because of the quality of the players involved.

“Those are some of the best players in the world,” he said. “It was fun to go out there and play. Devin Booker, the way that he played, kind of how you play off each other with him is pretty easy. I think Steph Curry is just different, I mean, one of the best players in the world. So to go out there and be his teammate for the first time ever was cool, too. It was an amazing experience. Played with some legends and against some legends, and again, brought back some gold.”

The offseason is nearly over for Holiday and his teammates, who will report to training camp in a few weeks to begin the process of defending their title. The summer has gone by quickly, as Holiday said his memories are still fresh from Boston’s championship celebration in June.

“The medal in Paris was cool, it was obviously against France, so it was kind of literally us against the world,” he said. “But winning here was amazing. I’m not sure anything tops that. To be able to win here in Boston, Game 5, the crowd, the (halfcourt) shot Payton (Pritchard) hit. It was all just so overwhelming that was amazing. Then the parade was crazy, too. I still feel like I’m still on a high with everything going on.”

There’s more from Boston:

After signing an Exhibit 10 deal, Lonnie Walker IV is hoping to win a roster spot in camp just like he did last year on a veteran’s minimum contract in Brooklyn, Terada adds in a separate story. Terada calls the signing a low-risk move for the Celtics and points out that Walker is only 25 even though he has six years of NBA experience. Walker could provide depth at shooting guard behind Pritchard if he makes the team, or he could wind up with Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine.
Playing time for Boston’s bench appears to be unsettled behind Pritchard and Sam Hauser, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Walker will be given a chance to earn a reserve role, but he’ll have to outperform midseason acquisition Jaden Springer and rookie Baylor Scheierman in training camp.
In the same piece, Robb gives Boston’s front office an A for how it handled this summer. The roster of last season’s title team returns nearly intact, and big men Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta were retained on club-friendly contracts.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks Storylines, Drummond, Tatum, Holiday

August 28th, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following a 50-32 season in 2023/24, the Knicks underwent a couple significant changes this summer, acquiring All-Defensive Team swingman Mikal Bridges and losing center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. Ahead of training camp, Fred Katz of The Athletic reflects on some of the top storylines in New York, including All-Star forward Julius Randle‘s fit on the new-look squad, how All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson will quarterback the club’s offense, and more.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers reacquired reserve center Andre Drummond in free agency this summer. Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with Bulls beat reporter Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune about what to expect from the 6’11” big man, after he spent two years in the Windy City. Poe notes that Drummond, though a great rebounder, struggled to carve out a significant role behind starter Nikola Vucevic, in part due to his erratic rim protection and finishing efficiency.
Appearing at a Raising Cane’s event on Wednesday, Celtics combo guard Jrue Holiday discussed teammate Jayson Tatum‘s limited role for Team USA during the 2024 Olympics, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “I think everybody knows JT — he’s the ultimate professional,” Holiday said. “He already knows what it is and what the ultimate goal is. I don’t think he needed any encouragement. I think it’s more so like staying ready whenever it’s his time to be called.” The All-Defensive Second Team guard had a bigger, more consistent role in the Paris games than Tatum did. Tatum was benched entirely during the Americans’ semifinal game against Serbia.
In case you missed it, former Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony recently revealed that New York offered him a bench role when he last hit free agency, in 2022.

And-Ones: Whitehead, West Playoff Race, Holiday, Schröder

August 19th, 2024 at 11:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former Nets shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead is reportedly joining Polish club Slask Wroclaw, according to Karol Wasiek of ZKrainyNBA.com (hat tip to Dario Skerletic of Sportando).

The 6’4″ swingman spent the 2023/24 season plying his trade for Israeli club Ironi Ness Ziona B.C., notching averages of 14.0 points, 4.6 assists per game, and four rebounds a night.

Whitehead was selected with the No. 42 overall pick by the Nets out of Seton Hall in 2016. Across two seasons with Brooklyn, the 29-year-old averaged 7.2 points on a .411/.305/.788 slash line, along with 2.4 boards and 2.4 dimes. He has been playing internationally since 2018.

There’s more from around the NBA world:

In a new piece, The Athletic’s Zach Harper takes stock of a wide-open Western Conference, projecting which clubs have a realistic shot at winning it all in 2024/25. Harper also lays out a Hall of Fame case for Celtics guard Jrue Holiday. The 6’4″ vet has now won two NBA and Olympic titles as a key contributor, has racked up a pair of All-Star accolades and has earned six All-Defensive Team honors.
Nets point guard Dennis Schröder recently took umbrage with Suns forward Kevin Durant’s critical post-Olympic tweet, seen as a shot at an initial Schröder comment, writes Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily. Schröder, who recently starred in the Paris Olympics for Team Germany, praised European basketball as “straight IQ basketball,” while he called the U.S. brand of the game as “entertainment.” After winning a gold medal for Team USA, Durant attached the caption “ENTERTAINMENT & IQ” to a photo of the gold-winning team on his personal Twitter account. “You’re that type of a star and have to say something to a person like me, who [didn’t] even mean it to be negative, just what I see from both sides. I didn’t appreciate it — not even appreciate it, I don’t care,” Schröder said on Twitch (Twitter video link). “… To say that tells me how weak he is as a person, you know what I’m saying? … It is what it is. Not everybody is strong, not everybody is in a good place.”
In case you missed it, we recently published projections for the maximum salaries, minimum salaries, and mid-level/bi-annual exceptions for the 2025/26 season.

Team USA Notes: Durant, Holiday, Brown, Tatum, Embiid

August 9th, 2024 at 6:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Team USA will make a lineup change for its gold medal game on Saturday vs. France, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who says that Suns forward Kevin Durant will be inserted into the starting five, with Celtics guard Jrue Holiday expected to make the move to the bench.

Durant missed all of Team USA’s exhibition contests leading up to the Olympics due to a calf strain, or else he might have been a starter from day one. Despite not getting any game reps in before the Olympics, Durant has been one of the team’s most-used players and top scorers in France, averaging 13.6 points in 20.5 minutes per contest and posting a white-hot shooting line of .579/.611/.929.

The French team’s frontcourt is its biggest strength, with Victor Wembanyama, Guerschon Yabusele, and Mathias Lessort playing key roles in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Rudy Gobert is also in that mix, though he’s banged up and has played a limited role in the knockout round. Adding Durant to the starting five will put the U.S. squad in a better position to match up with France’s size.

Here’s more on Team USA ahead of Saturday’s gold medal game:

USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill spoke to Joe Vardon of The Athletic and Rachel Nichols on the All The Smoke podcast (YouTube link) about the process of building the U.S. roster and his areas of concern entering the tournament. In his conversation with Nichols, Hill discussed the omission of Jaylen Brown from the 12-man squad, indicating that the Celtics wing will receive consideration for the 2028 team in Los Angeles despite the public criticism Brown offered last month. “He’ll be a candidate if he wants in ’28,” Hill said (Twitter video link). “One thing I’ve learned is you can’t take anything personal. My objective is to win.”
After Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was a DNP-CD for the second time in the Olympics in Thursday’s comeback win over Serbia, head coach Steve Kerr explained that it’s hard to find playing time for 11 players in a 40-minute game, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “It’s not about anything Jayson is doing or not doing,” Kerr said. “It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.” While it’s a small sample size, Tatum’s .389 FG% in Olympic play is the worst among U.S. players.
Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic take a look at the Joel Embiid subplot that will play a part in Saturday’s final, given that the former NBA MVP chose to play for United States over France in these Olympics. Embiid fully anticipates a cool reception from the home crowd in Paris. “They’re going to boo me,” he said with a smile. “I’m going to go back at them and tell ’em to suck it. And so it’s going to be fun.”

Olympic Notes: Holiday, Germany, Canada, Daniels

August 3rd, 2024 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

With its win on Saturday over Puerto Rico, Team USA clinched the top seed entering the quarterfinals of the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics and will face Brazil in the first game of the single-elimination portion of the event on Tuesday.

According to head coach Steve Kerr, Jrue Holiday will be ready to go on Tuesday after not playing against Puerto Rico on Saturday, tweets Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Holiday was ruled out due to an ankle injury, but it sounds like the issue is relatively minor.

At least one or two stars on the U.S. roster were DNP-CDs in each of the club’s first two games, so not having Holiday active allowed all 11 other players to see the floor on Saturday. Anthony Edwards led the way with a team-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting, while five other Americans scored in the double-digits.

Here are a few more Olympic notes:

While they’ve been somewhat overshadowed at the Olympics by teams with more NBA players or more recognizable stars, the Germans are the reigning World Cup champs and went undefeated in their three pool-play games, with a point differential (+47) that ranks second behind Team USA. Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com lays out the reasons why Germany remains a serious medal threat, starting with rising star Franz Wagner.
Canada faced a tough lineup of games in pool play, but after registering wins over Australia, Spain, and Greece, head coach Jordi Fernandez believes those challenging first-round matchups better equipped his team for what’s to come. “We’ve played with a Game 7 mentality because we played the toughest pool in the Olympics,” Fernandez said. “We’re more prepared than other teams who probably had big leads. We haven’t had those big leads, and even at times when we had them, these teams were so competitive that came back. I like where we’re at. This ‘group of death’ will help us be more prepared for the quarterfinals.”
Australia went just 1-2 in the so-called group of death, but their point differential was strong enough to earn them a spot in the quarterfinals. Olgun Uluc of ESPN shares his takeaways from the Boomers’ performance through three games and considers what areas they’ll need to improve to have a shot at a medal. On the plus side, Dyson Daniels has been a revelation so far this summer, Uluc writes — in addition to handling the most challenging defensive assignment on the perimeter, the Hawks guard has averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game with a .417 3PT%.

Olympic Notes: Quarterfinals, Holiday, Durant, Giannis

August 2nd, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Six of the eight quarterfinalists have been set for the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics, with three teams still in contention for the final two spots and the other three teams no longer in the mix.

The U.S., Germany, and Canada are the group winners, while Australia and France have secured top-two seeds in their respective groups and Brazil has clinched one of the two wild-card spots reserved for third-place teams.

The outcome of the Serbia/South Sudan game on Saturday will determine the last two quarterfinalists. If Serbia wins by three or more points, Serbia and Greece will advance to the single-elimination round. If South Sudan beats Serbia or loses by just one or two points, they’ll advance, almost certainly with Serbia. The only scenario in which Serbia would be eliminated (in favor of South Sudan and Greece) is if South Sudan wins Saturday’s contest by 24 or more points.

Puerto Rico, Japan, and Spain have been eliminated from medal contention.

Here are a few more items of interest from the Olympics:

Winning Saturday’s game against Puerto Rico by at least five points would assure Team USA of finishing pool play as the top-seeded team, likely creating a more favorable path to the medal round. That’s a priority, head coach Steve Kerr confirmed on Friday, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. “We want the No. 1 seed,” Kerr said. “It gives you the best matchup in the quarterfinals. So if we drop down to two or three — which I think is unlikely, but we’ve got to take care of our business — we possibly have a much tougher opponent.”
Veteran guard Jrue Holiday may return to the U.S. starting lineup on Saturday, but he’ll have to be cleared to play first. According to Windhorst, Holiday sustained a minor ankle injury in Wednesday’s game vs. South Sudan and is considered questionable for Saturday’s contest.
Kevin Durant has led Team USA in scoring (37 points) and plus-minus (+46) through two games, but he’s comfortable with continuing to come off the bench if that’s what Kerr prefers, Windhorst writes in a separate ESPN.com story. “It’s basketball, it really doesn’t matter who starts,” Durant said. “It’s about really who finished the game, who put their impact on the game while they’re in the game. So I just try to do my best to impact it any way I can.”
Although the Greek national team went just 1-2 in pool play and is in danger of being eliminated before the quarterfinals, Giannis Antetokounmpo is savoring his first Olympic experience, which included serving as Greece’s flag-bearer, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I might win another championship (in the NBA). I might win another MVP. Who knows?” Antetokounmpo said. “But I might never carry the flag again.”

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