3 things Jrue Holiday can do to help the Boston Celtics compete for Banner 18

Two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday has an opportunity to make an immediate impact with his new club, the Boston Celtics. A defensive stalwart and reliable offensive weapon, Holiday simply needs to do what he has historically done best to support the Celts.

Holiday has spent the last three seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, playing a key role in that team’s 2021 NBA championship. As such, Holiday has the chops and resume to not just be an effective piece on the court for the Celts, but a key leader for Boston’s locker room. Boston is in an excellent position to contend for a title, but their chief rivals in the conference also got better this season.

Holiday is a critical puzzle piece for this Celtics team achieving its goals. Let’s discuss.

Keep the ball moving

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla prioritizes 3-point shooting and smart passing as the two bedrocks of his club’s offensive identity. Last year, the Celtics ranked second in 3-point attempts per game and seventh in assists per game as a result. In fact, the Celtics scored 63.2% of all baskets off of assists during the 2023-24 campaign.

Holiday figures to add to this dynamic. He is a willing and effective passer, and logged 7.4 assists a night last season with the Bucks. Importantly, he’s not a traditional point guard like John Stockton or Rajon Rondo. Instead, he operates more as a modern as a combo guard, meaning many of his passes are coming as part of a larger offensive rhythm.

Holiday is also an accomplished catch-and-shoot threat from deep, which will be an important attribution to this Celtics offense as well.

Press up on defense

Holiday has been named to an All-Defensive team in five of the past six seasons, including an All-Defensive First Team nod last year. He’s one of the league’s premier on-ball defenders.

In Milwaukee, Holiday was often tasked with guarding bigger, stronger players either out on the perimeter or closer to the basket. With Boston’s length and defensive versatility, he likely won’t have such a difficult suite of responsibilities on that side of the ball.

With Kristaps Porzingis and others protecting the paint, Holiday can afford to trust the help defense behind him and get a little more aggressive.

Keep the calm

At first blush, the newest member of the Celtics has some big shoes to fill. Holiday is the logical successor to Marcus Smart, and will certainly help Boston bolster its defensive identity.

That said, Holiday has something Smart doesn’t, namely a championship ring. He’s the lone member of the Celtics to earn an NBA title, and as one of the most seasoned players on the roster, his ability to lead will be critical.

Smart was a phenomenal leader for Boston during his nine seasons in the Hub, and he and Holiday do share similarities in their game. But Holiday has the bona fides to help lead the Celtics over the hump.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Here's what Jrue Holiday must do to help the Boston Celtics win