Holiday officially gives Pelicans a Big 3
It's no stretch to say the New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of below-average talent. Though their roster arguably features two top-10 players, few of their other pieces would be worthy of minutes on most teams trying to compete for a playoff spot.
Luckily for the Pelicans, they have a third star beyond DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, as Jrue Holiday shows signs he's becoming the player that New Orleans hoped he would be. As he's improved, the team has taken flight too.
Tale of 2 seasons
The Pelicans have won six of their last seven, including three overtime victories. It's been an exhausting but crucial run for a team that's learning to close out games late. New Orleans has climbed the Western Conference ladder and now sits a half-game above the Portland Trail Blazers in the sixth slot.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Much of the Pelicans' success can of course be credited to their Big Three, who have averaged a combined 75.8 points and 31.2 boards through these seven games. That's an insane 67 percent of the team's points and rebounds.
Holiday, meanwhile, is showing why he made the All-Star team in 2013. Splitting his season in two shows the drastic uptick in his aggression and scoring touch over the past 24 games.
| Date | GP | MIN | PTS | FG% | 3P% | Off Rtg | Net Rtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/18/17-12/02/17 | 23 | 36.4 | 15.5 | 45.0 | 26.9 | 105.8 | 1.7 |
| 12/03/17-01/24/18 | 24 | 37.6 | 21.6 | 53.0 | 38.8 | 113.1 | 8.5 |
New Orleans got off to a fairly mediocre 12-11 start to the season, but has gone 14-10 during Holiday's turnaround.
The Pelicans were desperate for a third option - somebody to help stretch the floor and take advantage of the team's mammoth interior presence. They finally may have found that option in Holiday. Now they basically have no choice but to keep relying on him.
Holiday can't take a vacation
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Seriously: The Pelicans can't afford to leave Holiday on the bench.
When Holiday sits, the defense becomes an embarrassment. He owns a 104.3 defensive rating on the season, but his off-court rating is 115.0, giving him a ridiculous minus-10.7 defensive differential. (Davis' impact is the closest to that mark at minus-8.3.)
Holiday has a similar effect at the other end, producing a plus-6.0 differential in offensive rating. Overall, the Pelicans are 16.6 points better with Holiday on the floor.
Since Dec. 4, Holiday's played 902 minutes, and the Pelicans have been 25.4 points better with him. New Orleans is forced to give him gigantic minutes because the team lacks a viable substitute, whereas the Pelicans can stagger minutes for Davis and Cousins, allowing at least one of the two superstars to stay on the floor at all times.
Late last season, there were several question marks about the fit between Cousins and Davis. The real concern, though, should be the construction of the rest of the roster. Through much of this season, that issue continued to hold the Pelicans back. Holiday's emergence has helped the team find ways to win, and it's hard to imagine where the Pelicans' two superstars would be without him.