Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons why not worry about Jrue Holiday’s series against Nets

The Milwaukee Bucks have finally made something of their Conference Semifinals series with the Brooklyn Nets going into Game 5 Tuesday night.

With the series now tied at 2-2, the Bucks have finally entered the proceedings just as the Nets continue to get hit by injuries, though they will reportedly welcome back James Harden into the fold as he’s reportedly on the cusp of returning from his hamstring injury.

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

As for the Bucks’ big acquisition, Jrue Holiday has had a mixed series so far, the kind of which may lead Bucks fans questioning what has gone wrong for the 31-year-old.

Through the first four games this series, Holiday is averaging 13.3 points on .390/.300/.333 shooting splits, 5.8 assists, 5 rebounds across 38.4 minutes per contest.

With that in mind, let’s look at three reasons how and why Jrue Holiday has still managed to make an impact in this series and how it could turn around for him going into Game 5 against the Nets.

Jrue Holiday has given the Milwaukee Bucks some much-needed playmaking against the Nets

Standing as more of a true point guard than what the Bucks previously had in past playoff runs, Holiday has been able to mitigate his scoring issues with his playmaking.

Even going back to the Bucks’ first round series with the Miami Heat, Holiday has been able to orchestrate the Bucks’ offense despite his own scoring ineffectiveness and he finished with 9.8 assists per game and a 3.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.

While Brooklyn’s been more impressive defensively than one would have expected, Holiday has steadily taken the reins to pilot a Bucks offense that had its fair share of issues to start the series.

The Bucks’ 107-96 win over the Nets in Game 4 was the best indication of that when Holiday finished with 14 points on 6-for-16 shooting (2-for-7 from three) and nine assists. As the Bucks shifted Giannis Antetokounmpo more off the ball, the onus was put on the likes of Holiday and Khris Middleton to set the tempo and drive the Bucks’ offense.

Even as his shooting struggles have persisted, Holiday’s unselfishness with the ball in his hands and decision making has shined. Holiday is averaging a 3.28 assist-to-turnover ratio and delivering dazzling nutmeg passes like in the following highlight.

Whether Holiday can continue balancing out the Bucks’ isolation-heavy offense this series remains to be seen, but the offense has flowed more when the ball has been moving and Holiday’s helped that immensely.