It’s been a banner week for Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday.
Fresh off of minting a massive four-year extension to stay with the Bucks long-term, Holiday stands as the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week after playing his best ball in a Bucks uniform last week. All of it has been an extension of Holiday’s play since the All-Star break and getting back to full health after having COVID-19 as well.
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As Holiday has steadily found his groove in Milwaukee, his scoring exploits have taken center stage, especially as seen in this recent stretch. That has helped the UCLA product enjoy his most efficient season in his 12-year career as seen by his 57.9 effective field goal percentage and 60.1 true shooting percentage, all wile averaging 17 points per game this year.
So without further ado, let’s break down what all has stood out in Jrue Holiday’s fantastic scoring improvements as the Milwaukee Bucks’ season has progressed.
Jrue Holiday has shown an improved shooting stroke since joining the Milwaukee Bucks
While he’s never been recognized as a high-level or even consistent threat from 3-point range, Holiday has looked to change that sentiment since arriving to Milwaukee in the offseason.
Shooting 39 percent from 3-point range this season, Holiday is currently matching his career-best 3-point percentage marks set in both the 2009-10 and 2013-14 seasons. That’s been fueled by Holiday shooting 44.3 percent from deep since the All-Star break and he’s attempting more threes this season than any other year in his career as evidenced by his 36.0 3-point attempt rate.
It certainly helps that Holiday has been a credible threat when shooting off the catch. Per NBA.com/stats, Holiday is shooting 34-for-88 on such shots, good for 38.1 percent.
That same goes for the fact that Holiday has been dangerous when hitting shots well beyond the arc as the veteran guard is shooting 41 percent on his 122 attempts that are taken from 25 to 29 feet this season.
Thanks to playing alongside the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, Holiday hasn’t been so reliant in creating 3-point looks on his own. However, in those opportunities, Holiday has simply been sensational.
Jrue Holiday has shown his pull up mastery throughout his Milwaukee Bucks stint
Holiday has made it very apparent that the ease and effortlessness he shows when hitting shots off the dribble is one of the biggest strengths in his well-rounded game.
Along with his catch-and-shoot prowess, Holiday has been a lethal shooter when pulling up from 3-point range as he’s hitting 39.8 percent on his 93 attempts this season. Overall, Holiday is posting a 56.9 effective field goal percentage on his 166 pull up shots.
While that’s one thing, Holiday’s penchant for hitting tough shots is best seen by his extraordinary ability to hit step back jumpers routinely. Plays like the following come so easy for Holiday as he smoothly operates the ball screen set by Brook Lopez and slinks back to get the separation he needs to calmly hit the step back shot on Kings center Richaun Holmes.
This season, Holiday is shooting 29-for-56 on step back shot attempts this season and has a 67.0 effective field goal percentage on such looks.
It’s this kind of tough shotmaking from Holiday that gives the Bucks a completely different dimension than they’ve had at the point guard position previously. While teammates Khris Middleton has made a living of hitting tough shots, Holiday is certainly giving him a run for his money in this department.
Jrue Holiday has provided the Milwaukee Bucks a credible post up threat
It’s clear Holiday’s craftiness and skilled shotmaking, whether from three or from mid-range, has strengthened the Bucks’ offense in ways they didn’t have previously.
But the strength and toughness he often shows has given the Bucks another option in the post to turn to fuel their offense at times. Holiday showed all of that in a recent sequence in the Bucks’ decisive victory over the Portland Trail Blazers where he repeatedly backed down Damian Lillard as a means to get to the cup repeatedly.
Holiday possess the size, skills and tenacity to either back down his matchup like above or get the separation he needs to fade away and hit shots from the post. That all leads to him averaging 1.25 points per post up possessions, which ranks him in the 91st percentile of players this season.
All of this bolsters the versatile inside-outside scoring that Holiday excels in. And when it comes playoff time where the Bucks’ offense will grind down to a slower pace, Holiday possesses the calm, collected demeanor and an array of shotmaking skills to be a perfect option in such settings.
The impact that Holiday has made on the Bucks obviously goes beyond being able to score the ball at such a high level. But the fact that he’s found his groove on that end of the floor has only bolstered the Bucks’ firepower this season and improving their playoff prospects in the process.