The Milwaukee Bucks are coming off quite the high after picking up their signature victory of the 2020-21 season.
By edging past the L.A. Clippers in what ended up being a 105-100 thrilling victory in favor the Bucks, Milwaukee added brought their win streak to five games. All while they were enjoying the return of their star guard Jrue Holiday.
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Playing on a tight minutes restriction where he played nearly 18 minutes off the bench, Holiday’s return was expectedly rusty as he finished with two points on 1-of-5 shooting (0-for-3 from three), three assists and a pair of turnovers.
The fact, though, that Holiday made his return to the court, given what preceded over the last few weeks after the 30-year-old was placed in the league’s health and safety protocols earlier this month.
And as has been heavily hinted at and unconfirmed by the team and player to this point, Holiday confirmed to local media and reporters that he contracted COVID-19, which served as the impetus behind his lengthy absence.
Jrue Holiday detailed his COVID-19 diagnosis upon his return to the Milwaukee Bucks.
As he confirmed his positive diagnosis, Holiday detailed that he experienced symptoms by losing his taste, smell as well as body chills and fatigue. Thankfully, Holiday’s case was isolated from both team as well as his family.
"Yeah, I did (test positive). Don't know how, don't know where. Just thankful that nobody else got it on the team, my family was safe, nobody got it. I quarantined by myself for like 11 days...I had symptoms, it wasn't fun, but I'm glad that everybody's OK and I'm OK now." - Jrue
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 28, 2021
Those symptoms certainly affected his conditioning upon playing in his first game in over three weeks as he admitted he felt a step slow in his limited minutes.
Still, Holiday saw the floor during the Bucks’ crunch-time comeback and his presence was sorely needed down the stretch to thwart the Clippers when it mattered most. To that end, Holiday relayed that his adrenaline did kick in to mitigate the fatigue he felt over his shifts in the Bucks’ rotation.
Jrue Holiday confirms he tested positive for COVID and was symptomatic. Says adrenaline kicked in tonight in the second half and is glad to be back so quickly.
— Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) February 28, 2021
Holiday unfortunately serves as the recent test case for the Bucks to have contracted the virus and come down with symptoms. Former Bucks player Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton both missed the Bucks’ arrival down in the bubble to finish out the 2019-20 season and have talked about their experiences with catching the virus.
Luckily for Holiday and the Bucks, the team has a pair of games before the All-Star break, which will be helpful in building up his conditioning as well as easing any mental and physical fatigue he’s experienced since his bout with COVID-19.
As the Bucks look to add more wins to their current streak, the long-term health of Holiday is of the utmost importance and hopefully there won’t be any after-effects for the NBA veteran as he works his way back on the court.