Monday, April 25, 2011
Posted: 6:40 p.m.
By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
Jrue Holiday projects this aura of calmness when he plays basketball, an aura of calmness that really ought to be impossible from someone experiencing the playoffs for the first time, somebody whos going head-to-head on a nightly basis with a couple of the greatest players in NBA history, somebody who has the basketball in his hands on virtually every Sixers possession.
Somebody who is 20 years old.
Holiday has been a revelation in this playoff series against the Heat, lifting his already terrific game up several notches. Some guys in the playoffs for the first time wither under the bright lights of national TV, cant handle the extreme stakes the postseason presents and are unable to continue doing the things theyve done all year.
They wilt.
Holiday? Hes been better than ever. More productive, more efficient, more electrifying. And for him to do it on this stage, against this team, under this national TV microscope, with this much at stake, is simply remarkable.
NBA
The whole country is learning now what weve seen all year. Holiday is a budding superstar.
Jrue is mature beyond his years, but the interesting part about him, he still has so much of a kid in him, coach Doug Collins said Tuesday afternoon, after a brief Sixers practice at Philadelphia College of Medicine. Thats what I love about him. Hell be over there dancing and having a good time before the game, and I cant swallow and hes over there dancing and having fun and then he gets out there and just cool as a cucumber. I love that joy. He has the joy of a young guy, but the maturity and poise of a much older player.
Four games into his first playoff series, Holiday is averaging a team-high 15.3 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game and shooting 43 percent from the field and 55 percent from three-point range. In a team-high 150 minutes against one of the NBAs most ferocious defenses, hes committed eight turnovers.
Watching his floor game, his decision making, his defensive intensity, his shot selection and the complete absence of panic in his gameespecially against that star-studded team, Collins addsits difficult to believe hes 20 years old.
Cant even have his first drink yet, and hes the leader of our team, guard Lou Williams said with a laugh after practice Monday. Hes the point guard of our future, and hes going to be here many, many years. Hes going to have the opportunity to do some special things. Im just happy to be his teammate and help him any way I can. Im excited to watch his growth and see what happens.
Were all seeing that growth right now.
In the postseason, Holiday has increased his scoring from 14 to more than 15 points and reduced his turnovers from one every 13 minutes to one every 19 minutes.
In league history, only 14 players in their first or second NBA season have averaged 15 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 5.0 assists in the postseason. Of those 14, Holiday through four games is one of only four to average two or fewer turnovers per game.
The others are Maurice Cheeks in 1979 and Hall of Famers Larry Bird in 1981 and Clyde Drexler in 1985.
Rare company? Yeah, a little bit.
Its been a good learning experience, Holiday said Monday, a day after the Sixers extended their season with a dramatic 86-82 playoff win over the Heat. Its definitely been fun. Its what every young guy wants to get a chance to do. (Veteran teammate) Antonio Daniels was talking about a lot of guys in their career, they dont even make the playoffs, so to make it in my second year and to play the caliber of team were playing and get a victory, its awesome.
The Sixers averted a sweep at the hands of the Heat by winning Game 4 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.
Holiday made two memorable baskets down the stretch. His dazzling reverse layup in traffic with 8:28 left cut a seven-point Heat lead down to five, and his step-back three with 46 seconds left trimmed the Miami lead to one and set up Williams game-winner moments later.
Holiday conceded he never would have taken that three a few months ago.
I probably would have tried to see if we could get a better shot and set something up closer to the basket, he said.
Holiday has now made 11 of 20 three-pointers in the series (55 percent). If the playoffs ended now, that would be the best postseason three-point shooting performance in franchise history. Hersey Hawkins made 54 percent of his threes in the 1991 postseason.
In the last 20 years, only 13 NBA players have shot better from long-range in a postseason (minimum of 20 attempts), including Ray Allen of the Celtics (65 percent) and Jamal Crawford of the Hawks (57 percent) this year.
Since Holiday is always looking to set up his teammates first, Williams said he was shocked Holiday took that 25-foot three.
He caught everybody by surprise, Williams said. Everybody says, No, no, no, yes, yes. He kind of dribbled around in a circle and just launched it.
Miss it? The series is over. The season is over.
That was a 3-0 down shot, Williams said. It was one of those shots, you have nothing to lose. Take whatever chance you have.
Holiday just shrugged.
Just be confident in yourself, he said. Just let it fly.
Confidence never seems to be a problem with Holiday. No matter what the circumstances, no matter what the stakes, no matter what the score.
He never really gets rattled about much, Williams said. I think his maturity level is just off the charts, for him to be such a young guy. I think these veteran guys have been doing a great job with him, keeping him grounded. He listens. He wants to be coached.
And ... yeah, hes 20.
I dont even think Jrue has scratched the surface yet, Collins said. To me, Jrue is going to be a guy who can contend for the assist title, I think hes got a chance to be an all-league defensive player, and I think hes going to be anywhere from a 17- to 20-points-per-game scorer. I think he has the ability to do all those things.
The Sixers, now down three games to one, will face the Heat in Game 5 on Wednesday evening at American Airlines Arena.
It might be the end of the Sixers season, but its only the beginning of what could be a brilliant career.
He has the opportunity to basically be the face of this franchise, along with Dre (Iguodala) and Elton (Brand), Williams said. And I think thats just huge for him for his whole career.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com
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