Milwaukee Bucks: Jrue Holiday is heating up down the final stretch

While there was ever rarely any doubt, Jrue Holiday has proven himself to be a seamless fit with the Milwaukee Bucks throughout the entirety of this season.

The guard has brought another element of star power to the backcourt to better complement Milwaukee’s top tandem of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Providing the team with an essential boost of two-way play nightly, Holiday has been fantastic and it seems that he is currently playing his best basketball as a Buck yet.

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Holiday is averaging 22.1 points in his last seven appearances while shooting 51.7 percent from the field on 16.6 attempts per game. This more aggressive approach offensively has also led to more shots from behind the arc where the guard is making good by shooting 42.2 percent on 6.4 attempts.

Aside from shooting just 64 percent from the free throw line in this brief stretch, Holiday has been extremely efficient offensively for the Bucks. That scoring prowess has provided a massive boost for the Bucks, but the guard is also taking on more responsibility as the floor general by dishing out 7.5 assists per game.

Where things get particularly eye-catching is Holiday’s numbers on the defensive end where he is averaging a single steal and 1.5 blocks throughout these seven games. The two-time All-Defensive honoree has been a machine lately as he continues solidifying his case to earn his third nod this season.

Two of these matchups included Milwaukee’s doubleheader against the Brooklyn Nets earlier this month. Seeing Holiday increase his production against another Eastern Conference contender is a welcoming sight, particularly as a potential second round series between these two remains a legitimate possibility.

The Milwaukee Bucks will need Jrue Holiday to carry this strong play into the playoffs

With four games left to play between now and Sunday, the Bucks are still playing for their spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Holding the tiebreaker over Brooklyn, a strong close to the season could see Milwaukee secure that second seed. That would be advantageous in a series against those Nets, but no matter how the standings shake out, all eyes will be on Holiday this postseason.

The Bucks coughed up a king’s ransom for the guard last offseason because the lackluster contributions from the backcourt were among their most prominent flaws in each of the last postseasons. This organization believed Holiday could be the missing piece, further evidenced by the four-year extension worth up to $160 million they handed him back in March.

Although it is still far too early to tell whether Holiday can be the piece that elevates Milwaukee to title status, he has provided optimism in that regard. The Bucks have been fooled by regular season success from their guards before, but Holiday’s recent efforts with the team appear to be sustainable.

Being pegged as the missing link to complete Milwaukee’s championship desires, there is certainly more pressure added onto Holiday’s shoulders. However, the 30-year-old has understood this from the beginning of his tenure with the Bucks, assuring that he is built for this type of pressure. Transcribed by NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner:

"“Honestly, I think in any position there’s some sort of pressure,” Holiday said earlier this month. “If you can’t handle pressure, you probably shouldn’t be in this locker room.“There’s pressure everywhere. For me, being able to control that, handle that through my family life, handle that with my teammates who support me and I them, I feel that’s kind of how you get through those type of pressure times.”"

Only time will tell if Jrue Holiday can live up to the billing in his first trip to the postseason with the Bucks. Nevertheless, his top-notch play lately has been a sizeable boost in the team’s efforts to close the regular season on a high note.