After acquiring Lonzo Ball in the trade package for Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans have one of the most formidable defensive backcourts in the NBA with Ball and Jrue Holiday.
Last season, both Ball and Holiday ranked in the top-10 among point guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, with Ball coming in at No. 8 and Holiday finishing at No. 10. In the season prior, they ranked in the top-five.
Suffice to say, nothing’s going to come easy for opposing backcourts next season, and Ball is excited to get things rolling with his fellow UCLA alumnus. During a recent appearance on the Lightharted Podcast, Ball said he’s looking forward to sharing the backcourt with Holiday, who Ball believes is underrated:
“Our team is young, fun. We also have vets. Jrue is one of the most underrated players, in my opinion; I can’t wait to play with him on both sides of the court. That’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Holiday is coming off of the best individual season of his career, with per game averages of 21.2 points, 7.7 assists, 5 rebounds and 1.6 steals. The only other player to match those averages last season was Russell Westbrook, who averaged a triple-double for the third consecutive season.
Is Holiday underrated? It’s debatable. Is he very good? Yes, and Ball will try and make him even better next season.
