For a long time Brad Stevens He lacked a balanced rotation, enough players to achieve the goal of the ring and most of all a plan according to his style. From the moment the Indiana native switched fields for offices, his sole goal was to provide his replacement with everything he lacked as a self-made father to his offspring.
In their first year Boston Celtics they arrived NBA Finals for the first time in more than a decade. In the second, with a change of coach, the group signed the third best offense in NBA history and was one win away from repeating the result of the previous campaign.
Perhaps inspired by three-year law degree founded by Larry Bird Brad Stevens arrived at the table for the third course of his particular project. A turn that struck straight into the hearts of Green fans as they bid him farewell Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III, in addition to Malcolm Brogdon, to receive two new faces called upon to win the 18th title: Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
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The arrival of the latter will mark a major paradigm shift. Throughout Celtic history Only two players have managed to average more than 18 points, 6 rebounds and 1.5 steals. one was Kyrie Irving in 2019, with a not very good outcome, and the other Larry Bird who achieved this up to six different times. These figures are averages recorded Jrue Holiday during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks these past three seasons.
Numbers that predict the unprecedented nature of a profile like that of the former UCLA player in Boston. A player capable of scoring at will, like his own 39.5% in triples and 55% from two, but also defends at a very high level, finishing between them the best defensive quintets over the last three seasons (2 times in the 1st).
Jrue Holiday is called upon to be the one to finish Brad Stevens’ job on the Boston Celtics and let Jayson Tatum’s full potential emerge as a big green star.
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Raise the defensive floor
If anything was missing from the Celtics last season, it was a better version of defense, especially from their front line. The high tempo required by the offensive system increased the margin for error on the other side by increasing the number of situations in transition. A situation that brought the two heads of work at the back, Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon, in an unpleasant situation.
Although the former is a great defender, his skills stand out more in midfield and in a system where he is not necessarily the centerpiece of the frame. That is, he is a good defender who becomes elite if the framework accompanies him. Meanwhile, the latter stands out more in collective situations and falters in individual situations due to a physical deficit.
Jrue Holiday came to leave both limitations behind and turn them into strengths.
| Player | Direct block defense percentage | Clarification defense rate |
| Marcus Smart | 57 | fifteen |
| Malcolm Brogdon | 73 | 18 |
| Jrue Holiday | 66 | 68 |
There are few players who can currently rank above the 60th percentile in both cleanup defense and direct blocking. Specifically three, Quentin Grimes, Jaden McDaniels and Jrue Holiday. The combination of individual work and collective situations is exactly what the Greens lacked in this last campaign. An addition that will reach its peak in the Playoffs, when Boston has to face Damian Lillard’s Bucks, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat or Donovan Mitchell’s Cavaliers.
Landing him doesn’t guarantee a ring, but it’s a solid step toward solving some of the problems that cost the Celtics elimination in 2022 and 2023.
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Reinforce Joe Mazzulla’s identity and style
Brad Stevens has made it clear that his trust in Joe Mazzula Is full. And, as a result, he has moved to adapt the team to his manager’s philosophy and understanding of the game. To achieve this goal it was necessary to make the quintets more flexible, to open up the field and give him a dynamism that neither Smart, nor Williams, nor Brogdon were capable of providing.
Mazzulla, despite his inexperience, has proven that he has something very valuable, which is the ability to build fast, open and above all effective offensive systems. Simplicity tends to get heavily criticized when it fails to prevail over the rest, but it’s often the most complex game mode available at the highest level. Last year’s Celtics were able to display such dominance on offense thanks to building an ecosystem that is both transparent and unrepeatable in any other context.
Jrue Holiday has the singularity of existence able to put the ball on the groundsplit the defense and score or keep moving the ball (54.2% TC in leads), at the same time that it knows how to function as a simple executor in shooting (45.4% in triple catch & shoot).
The transfer from Holiday, especially the disembarkation Kristaps Porzingis, should reinforce Mazzulla’s very special way of understanding this sport and the context in which the game takes place. By focusing so much on open and flexible schemes on the offensive end, the Celtics are in a better position to not only win the East, but also put others in serious trouble. claimants such as Nuggets, Warriors, Suns or Clippers.
A reliable base, finally
Despite Brogdon’s good numbers and Smart’s great 2022 as the only point guard, it’s safe to say that feelings with both of them weren’t the best. The problems of one and the limitations of the other collided with the reality of the team’s two stars, who at many times needed a game director to take the helm and order the calm. Over the last decade of the Celtics, each team has lacked a traditional point guard, a point guard who to turn to, an attack manager in all its glory.
Jrue Holiday is that profile and needs to accomplish what his predecessors failed to do.
They have two exteriors of his caliber Tatum and Brown It is a luxury, but also a responsibility. Asking them to step up as playmakers is natural to their respective developments, not so demanding that the entire weight of management falls on their shoulders. A problem Boston has faced since 2021, when the Kemba Walker experiment went awry.
Holiday comes in to better manage the Jays’ talent, the missing link in the green project, and that should allow both stars to reach the end of the game with better fitness and focus to seal the win.
On paper, no game or championship has ever been won, but the foundation has been laid for glory, and the Boston Celtics have taken all the necessary steps to land Larry O’Brien this coming June.
