What is causing Jrue Holiday’s early struggles for the Milwaukee Bucks?

Jrue Holiday has not been himself to start the 2021-22 NBA season as he is in year two with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Throughout his 10 appearances, the guard is averaging 13.2 points per game while shooting just 38.2 percent from the floor and 30.2 percent from behind the arc. Both of those percentages are career lows for the 12-year veteran as he continues to struggle on the offensive end. The strange thing is that Holiday is coming off the most efficient shooting season of his career in 2020-21. In 59 games last season, Holiday averaged 17.7 points while shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from 3-point range, both percentages being career bests.

Part of Holiday’s early struggles could be attributed to the injuries and an illness that he endured early in the season, including an ankle sprain and a heel contusion. He missed several games with these issues and has struggled to find his footing since returning to the lineup. Holiday’s struggles have been tough to navigate through Milwaukee’s 8-8 start, but which part of his game is holding him back the most as he is having his worst shooting season to date?

Jrue Holiday’s finishing at the rim and wide-open shooting have been notable concerns amidst the Milwaukee Bucks’ slow start

According to NBA.com/stats, Holiday is shooting 17-of-35 (48.6 percent) in the restricted area this season, which is a career-low. For reference, he shot 181-of-274 (66.1 percent) in the same area last season, which was a career-high. This nosedive in efficiency is strange, to say the least, after the guard proved to be a fantastic finisher last season, while he looks discombobulated when he takes it to the hoop more often than not this season. Holiday is also struggling in the paint as a whole by shooting just 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) from the non-restricted paint this year, compared to 77-of-166 (46.4 percent) last season.

While Holiday is having an abysmal time finishing at the hoop, he is not having much success from deep either. As previously mentioned, the guard is shooting a career-low from three this year, and that can be attributed to his inability to connect on wide-open shots. Holiday is shooting a brutal 9-of-35 (25.7 percent) on 3-pointers when the closest defender is not within six feet. Last year, it was these wide-open shots that helped propel his career year as he shot 62-of-141 (44 percent) on such opportunities. The same shots are there for Holiday this season, but he has struggled to get them to fall with any sort of regularity, which has hindered his production.

The 10 games Holiday has played this year are obviously a smaller sample size in comparison to the 59 he appeared in during the championship season, but these struggles are a clear-cut issue. There is no reason to panic about the guard yet, as there is likely still some rust from his time missed early in the season with the injuries and illness. Holiday should only get better as the year progresses and he gets back up to speed. Getting back on track starts with remaining aggressive offensively, which he has certainly done to this point. That shot should start falling soon enough.

Keep an eye on Holiday in tonight’s matchup against the Orlando Magic.