The Milwaukee Bucks certainly got a boost Sunday night as they took home their second straight victory.
Midway through their 128-115 win over the Sacramento Kings, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday joined his teammates on the bench and to enjoy a much-needed victory.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
It marks Holiday’s first appearance since entering the league’s health safety protocols midway through the Bucks’ road trip and his absence coincided with the Bucks’ five-game losing streak that they have since broken.
Now 3-5 in the games where they’ve been without Holiday, the Bucks have learned the hard way when being without such an instrumental contributor like Holiday.
The good news, though, is that Holiday appears to be nearing his return.
The Milwaukee Bucks have sorely missed Jrue Holiday, but his return may be imminent.
After the Bucks’ win, head coach Mike Budenholzer hinted at Holiday’s return coming very soon, all while keeping it very vague in true Budenholzer fashion.
Mike Budenholzer on Jrue Holiday: "He's getting very close."
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 22, 2021
Did not want to give specifics on a timeline.
Obviously Holiday has emerged from his quarantine following his unconfirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. Over that time, the NBA prohibits players from exercising for 10 days and have to be monitored for two additional days in individual workouts.
At this rate, it’s been two weeks since news of Holiday entering health and safety protocols surfaced, so one would guess that he’s working his way back into game shape. From there, it will be on the Bucks to monitor his status and see his return as they fit, which could depend on the severity of his diagnosis and going through such a long layoff between games.
And with this year’s All-Star break less than two weeks away, it will be interesting to see how the Bucks handled Holiday’s return to game action from that standpoint as well. Either way, Holiday’s presence surely helped spark the Bucks’ second victory and it’s very reassuring to know that he’s on the other side of his absence.
NBA players such as Jayson Tatum has recently talked about playing through the after-effects of having COVID-19. With that in mind, taking the next steps in returning to the court is critical for Holiday and hopefully, there won’t be any serious effects seen in his play or health status moving forward.
Life without Holiday hasn’t been easy by any means for the Bucks, but once he returns to the fold, perhaps Milwaukee can return to the form they were in the middle of before his absence.