Holiday meeting Sixers' raised expectations

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OKLAHOMA CITYLast year was an interesting and fulfilling one for Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday.
Holiday led the team in scoring during the postseason with 15.8 points per game, helping the franchise advance to the second round for the first time in eight years.
Last July, he was named to the USA Basketball Select Team, a squad put together to train against the USA Olympic team before it headed to London to claim the gold medal.
In August, Holiday went to London to cheer on his girlfriend Lauren Cheney and her USA Soccer teammates on as they too pursued a gold medal that had eluded them in the World Cup a year earlier. This time around, Holiday did see a gold medal performance by his soon-to-be fianc and her teammates.
Prior to training camp starting in October, Holiday popped the question, asking Cheney to marry him. She said yes and soon after he said yes to the Sixers when they offered him a four-year contract extension worth 41 million.
Then, the real fun started. Holiday took over the leadership reigns handed to him by a head coach that trusts him implicitly.
Holiday has not disappointed when it comes to matching increased expectations. He is 14th in the league in scoring with 18.8 points per game and he is tied for third overall with his 9.0 assists per contest.
Holiday missed four games with a foot sprain this season and the Sixers are 0-4 in those matchups.
Doug Collins has repeatedly preached about Holidays value to the Sixers, saying most recently after Wednesdays loss in Phoenix that we ride Jrue so much and if he gets just a little bit off, well we just count on him to do so much for us.
Holiday was a little bit off with his passing against the Suns, committing six turnovers, a statistic that overshadowed his second career triple-double.
However, the big picture shows that Holiday is traveling a path that will someday have him playing in the All-Star Game.
Sometimes Holiday has to pinch himself because just five years ago, he was playing high school basketball and hoping a career in the NBA would be in the cards.
Five years ago, I didnt think I would be in the place I am now, Holiday said. Am I old or am I young? Five years out, I am almost a vet. That is crazy, that is crazy.
On New Years Day Holiday experienced his first career victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. In his eyes, that win was no small feat given Holidays adoration for that franchise when he was growing up.
Los Angeles was a sports town pretty much for me growing up with Kobe (Bryant) and Shaq (ONeal) or take it back to Magic (Johnson) and Showtime, again basketball is huge in L.A., Holiday said. There are a lot of guys in the league who are from L.A. and probably feel the same way as me. We have one of the places where the most amount of guys are playing in the NBA, like even on our team.
Like Holiday, teammates Dorell Wright and Nick Young are from Southern California and the states NBA talent doesnt stop there.
Brandon Jennings is from Southern California, so is DeMar DeRozan, Holiday said.
The best always want to play the best at any level, and those from out west always boast of being cooler than their east coast counterparts.
Way different, we are way cooler, Holiday said of the differences between his hometown and the place he now makes his home. Philly is a different feel from what I was used to. It is a different way of life that obviously is pretty cool, I think. That is part of growing and maturing, going to a different places and learning something new and being around new people.
I love L.A., but I think they have some of the most fake people out there. In Philly, they just like to keep it real with you. If they dont like you, they dont like you and that is one thing that I definitely like about it.
If Holiday keeps progressing at this rate, he wont have to worry about anyone in Philly disliking him.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com.

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