As they discussed during their respective Media Day sessions, Jrue Holiday and Torrey Craig are looking to set a tone and toughness for the Milwaukee Bucks.
After an offseason full of twists and turns around every corner, we finally made it to Milwaukee Bucks Media Day ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season.
It was undoubtedly more irregular than past Media Days due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, to say the least. That resulted in most of the day being held through virtual meetings, and although that might not be as exciting as fans are typically accustomed to, there was still no shortage of compelling quotes.
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Particularly, Jrue Holiday made a strong impression in his first session with the Bucks’ media since being acquired last month.
The Bucks, of course, gave up a substantial haul of assets to trade for the 30-year-old Holiday because of the urgency surrounding their desire to win a championship. Milwaukee needed an upgrade in the backcourt, and Holiday unquestionably fit the bill, although it cost them a fortune.
When asked by Locked on Bucks host Kane Pitman about handling the pressure of being seen as the missing piece in Milwaukee’s title hopes, Holiday seemingly embraced having such a critical role in his new surroundings by saying, “If you can’t handle pressure, you probably shouldn’t be in this line of work, to be honest with you.”
Guard play has been a weak spot for the Bucks in the postseason, and Holiday is unquestionably trying to rewrite that narrative. And with that, he’s certainly embracing his chance on fortifying the Bucks’ core and fulfilling his desire to win a ring above all else.
Jrue Holiday was not the only new member of the Milwaukee Bucks to catch some Media Day attention, as Torrey Craig followed suit.
Torrey Craig told the media that despite possessing the best regular season record in consecutive seasons, he believes the Bucks need to adopt an underdog mentality. The swingman cited his previous stop with the Denver Nuggets from last season as an example, who battled through adversity and became the first team ever to come back from multiple 3-1 deficits just last postseason.
Since going undrafted in 2014, Craig’s journey has been an uphill battle with numerous different stops overseas before eventually earning himself a standard deal in the NBA. He provides that underdog mindset, and that mentality could spread throughout that Bucks’ locker room.
Much like Holiday, Craig brings a much-needed sense of toughness defensively, and he described how excited he is to join a team with such a high profile on that end of the floor. Milwaukee will undoubtedly need him, and the guard described his mindset as “no complaints, no excuses,” which is what every Bucks fan wants to hear at this point.
Says he was most excited about this team's defense. With the elite defenders they have and team defensive success that unit will be a nightmare for other teams
— Justin García 🎙 (@tmjgarcia) December 3, 2020
With such a strong defensive spine at their disposal, fans are anxious to see a future five-man lineup with Holiday, Craig, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez. That combination has the potential to be truly suffocating to opponents.
Given how they wilted in each of their last two playoff runs, the Bucks being able to dig in deep and shore up their mental and physical fortitude was necessary going into a pressure-filled campaign. And it seems as though both Holiday and Craig are up to address that.