Saturday, April 16, 2011
Posted: 10:30 a.m.
By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
Doug Collins was joking the other day about how he noticed Jrue Holiday getting into some bad habits late in the season, and how he asked his starting point guard if he had been watching too much high school and college basketball.
We thought maybe he had been watching the NCAA tournament and all those high school all-star games, saw the guys leaving their feet, throwing the ball across the court and stuff, Collins said. He told me he wasnt.
You couldnt blame Holiday if he was. Because most of those college players are about his age. And most of those high school stars are only a year or two younger.
Holiday, just 22 months out of Campbell High School in North Hollywood, begins life as an NBA playoff guard Saturday afternoon when the Sixers face the Heat in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round series at American Airlines Arena in Miami.
There have only been a handful of point guards whove started on playoff teams before their 21st birthday. Magic Johnson did it in 1980 and more recently guys like Brandon Jennings, Tony Parker and Derrick Rose have as well.
NBA
Coming off a remarkable second season, the acrobatic, athletic 6-4 guard seems as prepared as any of the others.
Im excited, Holiday said. Definitely ready to go into the playoffs strong. Trying to run the team, get people shots where they need to get em, make the fewest mistakes as possible. Im ready to go.
After an uneven rookie year under Eddie Jordan, Holiday blossomed this year under new head coach Doug Collins.
Holiday was one of only eight NBA players this year to average 14 points, six assists and four rebounds per game, a group that also includes such names as LeBron James, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook and the Sixers own Andre Iguodala.
Holiday is only the fifth player in NBA history to average 14, six and four before his 21st birthday, joining Johnson, James, Paul and John Wall, who did it this year for the Wizards.
Jrues biggest improvement this year has been his awareness of what we want to do on the floor, and he really holds himself accountable, Collins said. Early in the year, when he made some plays where he didnt use the soundest of judgmenthe tried to make cross-court passes left-handed and theyd get picked off or whateverbut he walked, and hes understanding the value of the ball.
I rarely have to say much to him now. Hes got a great feel. I think hes really doing a better job of not falling in love with his jump shot. Hes doing a good job of mixing up his game.
On a team with six key guys in the rotation 24 or younger, Holiday is the youngest.
For Collins and the other Sixers to have so much trust in a 20-year-old point guard is a testament to Holidays basketball wisdom and savvy.
Not that Holiday is getting too wrapped up in the enormity of having the ball in his hands in an NBA playoff series against one of the most heavily hyped teams in NBA history.
Im not really concerned, he said.
From last year to this year, Holiday nearly doubled his scoring (8.0 to 14.0), assists (3.8 to 6.5) and rebounds (2.6 to 4.0).
Despite a late-season slumphe made just 32 of 87 shots the last six games (37 percent)he shot 45 percent from the field for the season, best of all the Sixers guards.
Hes a year older and more experienced and I see a lot more leadership as far as him running their offense and everything else, said Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, whose team faces the Hawks in a first-round series starting Saturday.
Hes very much in control on the floor of what they do, and I dont think that was true a year ago, nor would it be for most 19-year-old point guards coming out of college, so I think hes made a great jump this year. Hes a very good defender, which he was even a year ago, but just his ability to run a team I think has improved a great deal.
Collins, 37 years removed from his rookie year in the NBA and 35 years removed from his playoff debut as a guard with the Sixers, has a real kinship with Holiday. Even though hes nearly 40 years older than his prize guard.
Hes been in the game something like 40 years, so who better to learn from? Holiday said. He just kind of put his trust in me and believed in me. It gives me a lot of confidence, him telling me, You kind of mirror me on the court, since I cant play. It definitely gave me a lot of confidence going through the season.
And coach kind of tells (assistant coach and former Temple star) Aaron McKie what I should do and Aaron McKie, who was a point guard, helps me out a lotwhat I should do, how I should play, how I should look at situations. And I think they collectively really helped my development.
When Holiday walks onto the court at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, hell become the third-youngest Sixer to play in a postseason game (Thaddeus Young was 19 in 2008 and Larry Hughes was a slightly younger 20 in 1999).
And this will also be Holidays first real national exposure. Playing on the same court as James and Dwyane Wade on national TV will place Holiday in the spotlight like never before.
A stellar performance in this series would really bolster Holidays national reputation.
Hes 20 years old, and Ive seen young point guards get into a situation, get into the spotlight, and really play well, 32-year-old teammate Elton Brand said. (Rajon) Rondo and other guys did it, so its definitely possible, and Jrue Holiday works real hard. I expect excellence from him (in the playoffs), because hes been excellent all year.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com
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