Milwaukee Bucks: Jrue Holiday making an immediate all-around impact

Although we are just two games into the 2020-21 season, Jrue Holiday has made his presence felt with the Milwaukee Bucks early on.

The Milwaukee Bucks emptied the safe to acquire Jrue Holiday this offseason, and the guard has been fantastic in his first two games with the franchise.

In his Bucks debut against the Boston Celtics Wednesday night, he made a strong first impression that would have been hard to top. In 38 minutes, Holiday finished with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. His high-end play on both ends of the floor was mesmerizing to watch, and although the Bucks lost, Holiday gave them something to be excited about moving forward.

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While the Bucks know what Holiday brings to the table, an opposing coach also had some high praise for Milwaukee’s new floor general.

Prior to Friday’s Christmas Day matchup, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr discussed how Holiday’s presence is going to instill confidence in the rest of the team:

"“I think he’s going to give them great confidence. The confidence that he plays with will spread amongst the team. When you get deep in the playoffs, what you really need is as many alpha two-way players as you can get… Milwaukee was already a championship-caliber team, but they’ve just made themselves even stronger with Jrue, and I think they’ll be more confident and tougher this season because of his presence.”"

Indeed, Holiday and the Bucks looked confident as they routed the injury-riddled Warriors by 39 points in their first home Christmas game since 1968. Holiday put together another solid performance as he logged 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds, six assists, and a block in 25 minutes. Although Holiday did not provide much offensively, his playmaking was on full display as he was responsible for approximately 30 percent of Milwaukee’s points thanks to his scoring and assists.

Defensively, Holiday had his hands full as he received the primary task of slowing down two-time MVP Stephen Curry. In part due to Holiday, along with Milwaukee’s other defenders, Curry struggled in Friday’s game, having scored 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-10 from 3-point territory as he was forced to work for his points on every possession. Holiday’s ability to defend some of the league’s biggest stars is a substantial boost for the Bucks, and it showed when he went toe-to-toe with Curry.

Two games into the season, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer shared his thoughts on Jrue Holiday’s impact.

Following Friday’s win, Bucks head coach Budenholzer spoke on his new point guard’s efforts and what he has been able to do with the team thus far:

"“He’s so talented, and he’s so skilled. I think some of the passes he makes, the vision, the finishing, the left hand, it’s pretty unique. It’s pretty special. We’re still learning Jrue, and it’s probably the same for him with us, so we feel like he’s just going to get better, and we’ll get better around him, but he’s a very talented player.”"

Although it is early, Holiday has proven his worth on both ends of the floor with fantastic play while also igniting some much-needed confidence in this team. Thus far, the 30-year-old guard is averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, along with a block and a steal apiece.

If there is one area to pick at, it has been Holiday’s 3-point shooting, as he has connected on just one of his six attempts from behind the arc in the early going of the season. However, that shot will hopefully come in due time as the season progresses.

With 70 regular season games left on the schedule before the postseason, this Bucks team has plenty of time to establish their chemistry, particularly the leading trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, and Khris Middleton. Hopefully this is just the beginning for Holiday and the Bucks as they try to piece together a title run this season.