Jrue Holiday playing for Pelicans in Game 4 on Saturday
The New Orleans Pelicans will be at full strength when they try to extend their 2014-15 season on Saturday.
Stuck in a 3-0 hole against the Golden State Warriors, the Pelicans will have point guard Jrue Holiday active for Game 4. Holiday missed three months toward the end of the season due to a stress reaction in his right leg, and lingering soreness makes his status a day-to-day matter.
Holiday managed to play 21 minutes in Game 1 and 17 minutes in Game 3 but wasn't healthy enough for Game 2 in between. He's had just a single day off since his last action, and the Pelicans waited until immediately before tip-off to make a call on his status. He'll play, and even in limited minutes, that could be big for New Orleans.
While Holiday's offense has been muted some since returning - he's averaged nine points and four assists over three regular season and two playoff games - it's his defense that New Orleans craves against Steph Curry and company. Tyreke Evans has filled in capably as the lead ball-handler but Holiday, even at less than full health, is theoretically their best check on Curry.
In a small regular season sample, that didn't manifest itself in the numbers:
| Curry vs. Pelicans | Pts/36 | Ast/36 | TS% | O-Rtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| with Holiday | 26.9 | 9.1 | 65.2% | 116.0 |
| with out Holiday | 23.8 | 11.6 | 53.2% | 111.7 |
But so far in the playoffs, the Pelicans have been a little better off with Holiday than without him:
| Curry vs. Pelicans | Pts/36 | Ast/36 | TS% | O-Rtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| with Holiday | 38.8 | 2.8 | 56.8% | 106.7 |
| with out Holiday | 25.8 | 6.8 | 56.6% | 111.4 |
There's a lot of noise in those numbers - Holiday has only faced Curry for 26 minutes in the series - but in any case, the Pelicans would prefer all hands on deck for an elimination game.