Jrue Holiday will play vs. Suns, ends 41-game absence

Timing is everything.

Jrue Holiday will come off the bench to play roughly 15 minutes. 

The New Orleans Pelicans had upgraded Holiday to questionable for Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns before the announcement was made that he will see action on the hardwood. 

Holiday missed 41 consecutive games, shelved since Jan. 12 due to a stress reaction in his right leg. He was expected out for two-to-four weeks but then aggravated the issue in mid-February, pushing his timeline back another three weeks. In early March, he had a protective boot removed but continued to experience pain, leaving his timeline open-ended from there.

As of Tuesday, Holiday was still experiencing pain and it was unclear whether he'd be able to return at all this season. 

The Pelicans are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with four games to play. They own the tiebreaker but can ill afford a loss at any point, contingent on what the Thunder do. In Holiday, the Pelicans get back not just a strong offensive weapon and a complement to Anthony Davis, but also their best defensive guard.

Tyreke Evans has filled in capably as the team's starting one but is best utilized as the dominant piece of second units, and the team's chances of shocking the Golden State Warriors in the first round is appreciably higher if Holiday is healthy enough to help contain Steph Curry.