What Impact Will Jrue Holiday’s Injury Have on Pelicans?
By Mike Delayo
Jrue Holiday suffered a stress reaction on his right leg during the Pelicans loss to the Celtics and he has not seen the floor since. His timetable for return is 2-4 weeks, which comes out to 8-12 games. With the inaugural week long All-Star break coming up in mid February, I would be very surprised to see Jrue back in action before then.
This injury affects quite a few things for the Pelicans, both in the short term and the long. Unfortunately, the effects are pretty bad.
On-Court Chemistry
Holiday and Anthony Davis are the pillars which this team will be built around for the foreseeable future. Naturally, it would be in the team’s best interest if they played together as much as possible. These next few weeks will yet another bump in the chemistry building process. Last season, Jrue was only on the floor for 34 games before a stress fracture in his same right leg ended his year.
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Holiday was 37 games into what I believe to be his best season so far. His scoring is steady (15.2 ppg) and usually looks for quality over quantity in this department (44%fg, 37% 3pt). Jrue’s ability to create for his teammates has always been there, but now he is taking much better care of the ball while doing it. His 2.95 assist to turnover ratio is a career high, and he has barely lost ground in the assist department (7.1 apg).
Anthony Davis is in the midst of a break out season, and he is obviously ridiculously talented. Having a point guard that is unselfish enough to understand his role in the offense is not as easy as it looks (see: Lebron James-Kyrie Irving).
On the other hand, having a teammate as the main threat allows Jrue to find more opportunities for himself while defenses swarm Davis. The skill sets of Holiday and Davis mesh seamlessly on both sides of the floor, resulting in increasingly positive results.
It is no coincidence that both of these players are having career years. With Jrue the senior of the two at only 24 years old, there is a lot of room for both of them to continue to grow together. For that to happen though, Holiday needs to be on the floor. If this team is ever going to aspire to great things, it will be on the backs of these two men. Hopefully from here on out, there will be no more delays.
Monty Williams‘ Job
Before the injury, Monty’s job security was up in the air. The team had not been meeting the playoff level expectations put forth by management and the fans. Despite the struggles that may lie ahead without Holiday, the injury should not demerit a possible change at head coach.
Jan 12, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Monty Williams reacts during the second half of a game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
My first thought when I read that Holiday would in fact miss a couple of weeks was whether or not the injury would impact any front office decisions. I think it is reasonable to envision a scenario where ownership would look at the season and blame the Holiday injury for the major struggles. That cannot happen if progress is to be made.
I have made it known that I want Monty to stick around and I still believe he should finish out the season. However, whatever decision is to be made needs to be based off of how the team was producing with everyone healthy.
I do not want Monty to stay if results do not improve once Holiday returns. But if management acts before Jrue comes back, I believe they will be making a mistake.
Playoff Implications
Despite what his teammates can provide in his absence, Holiday is the second best player on the team. An injury to any guy like that, especially in the midst of a tight playoff race, usually spells the end of that teams postseason hopes. The Pelicans are no different.
The playoffs look as if they have drifted out of reach, especially if Holiday has to miss twelve games. Any other result will surprise me.
But the optimist in me urges you to hold onto that last strand of hope. The Pels have no incentive to lose because they traded their first round pick for Asik. They still have Anthony Davis, a top three player in the league. Ryan Anderson can still get back to his flame throwing ways. Asik may catch a pass. Tyreke Evans may become Kyle Korver over night. Monty just might even reveal a decent wardrobe!
All kidding aside, with Holiday out the Pelicans find themselves in dire straits. If a miraculous playoff run occurs, then great. But if not, all we can ask for as fans is a competitive team that continues to grow, a few more Anthony Davis highlights, and a role in screwing with the rest of the Western Conference playoff teams.
This is not the end of the road by any means. The Pelicans have a long way to go, with Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday leading the way.