After the NBA announced the All-Defense teams on Tuesday, JJ Redick and multiple other Pelicans and NBA players took note of Jrue Holiday’s exception. Redick, Lonzo Ball and All-Star Damian Lillard all took to social media to express surprise at Holiday’s omission.
Redick took it a step further on Thursday on his podcast, The Old Man & the Three. Former MVP Kevin Durant joined the podcast and Redick brought up the topic of Holiday not making either All-Defense team.
“Jrue Holiday is solidified as probably the best defender in the league at the guard position. When we talk about defense, a lot of people don’t really understand what defense really means. For different positions, especially at point guard, the stuff you have to do to guard, they don’t get a lot of credit for fighting over screens especially now they getting screened at half court, guys are running off of pindowns. ”
Durant has plenty of experience playing against Holiday after both players have spent the vast majority of their careers in the Western Conference. Durant brought up one of the most recent meetings between him and Holiday.
“You put Jrue in any system, any coach is going to ask him to guard the best player. We played them in 2018, second round and he guarded me the whole series. He was picking me up full court, he was guarding me in the post. Actually, it was tough to dribble on Jrue Holiday. He slides his feet so well, he’s got good hands, he’s strong, he’s got good instincts. I gained a lot of respect for him in that series because he went from guarding me to Klay (Thompson) to Steph (Curry) to guarding Draymond (Green), neutralizing picks and rolls. He’s special. He’s special on that side of the ball.”
Even if Durant admitted he gained respect for Holiday in that series, he managed 27.8 points on 50.5% shooting from the field. That, though, shouldn’t be an indictment on Holiday, who has remained one of the elite defenders in the league.
Redick also notes that the Pelicans’ defensive struggles as a team may have led to some undervaluing Holiday’s individual defense. But Pelican fans saw all season long that Holiday’s defense had not slipped.
