The Milwaukee Bucks badly need a more efficient Jrue Holiday in Game 5

During the first four games of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first round series against the Boston Celtics, one noticeable trend has been the sluggish contributions from Jrue Holiday offensively.

The guard has not been able to find any semblance of a rhythm thus far, and while he is averaging a solid 21.3 points per game, his efficiency has been outright abysmal. Holiday has shot 31-of-92 (33.7 percent) from the floor, including 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) from 3-point range across the four games to this point. Although Holiday has given the team some reputable play defensively during this series, they desperately need him to get going offensively with the series tied 2-2 heading to Boston for Game 5 tonight.

The Milwaukee Bucks desperately need a more efficient Jrue Holiday in Game 5

With no Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday has been asked to be the team’s second scoring option in the postseason, and he has struggled to do so. It is head-scratching to see a player of Holiday’s caliber lose their touch offensively after the guard put together one of the most efficient years in his career during the regular season. Nevertheless, he will have a chance to wipe the slate clean in a pivotal Game 5 tonight, and here are a few areas he must work on.

First and foremost, Holiday needs to start connecting on his shots right at the hoop. According to NBA.com/stats, the veteran has shot 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) in the restricted area and 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) in the paint (non-restricted area) in this particular series. Also, he is shooting just 10-of-25 (40 percent) on his layups in this matchup. For whatever reason, Holiday has struggled to convert shots right at the rim, which has hindered Milwaukee’s offense mightily. They need him to start knocking these down, as this efficiency is genuinely vile.

With his layups and shots inside not falling, Holiday has tried to become a jump shooter during the second round, which has not exactly gone in his favor. Holiday is shooting 19-of-59 (32.2 percent) on his jump shots throughout these four games, which will simply not get the job done. If Holiday will rely so heavily on these jumpers, they need him to start making more than 32.2 percent of the shot attempts. Some would argue that he needs to cool it with the jumpers, but with his shots at the hoop not falling with any consistency whatsoever either, it is hard to say that.

Holiday’s offensive struggles in this series have been on display in no period more than the fourth. Across these four fourth quarters, Holiday is shooting an awful 5-of-25 (20 percent), including an ugly 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) from behind the arc. He has scored 18 total fourth quarter points, but seven of them have come courtesy of the free throw line. For a player that proved to be a lifeline in the clutch for the Bucks during the regular season, this sloppy fourth-quarter play has been rather uncharacteristic of him. It goes without saying that the Milwaukee Bucks need Holiday to be better in the fourth, as his struggles offensively in Game 4 were a significant reason why the Boston Celtics came back to win.

All eyes will be on Jrue Holiday as the Milwaukee Bucks gear up for a crucial Game 5 at TD Garden. To win this series, they need him to be much more efficient offensively, and time will tell if he is up to the task tonight.

Be sure to catch the action tonight at 6:00 p.m. CST on TNT.