Bucks pin hopes on Jrue Holiday’s resurgence in NBA finals vs Suns

After a woeful first two games in the 2021 NBA finals, Milwaukee Bucks know that their star Jrue Holiday needs to fire both offensively and defend the hottest-scoring NBA Finals backcourt duo in 50 years if they have to make a comeback against Pheonix Suns from game 3.

Holiday has shot a woeful 11-of-35 from the floor in the first two games of the best-of-seven championship showdown, both of which Phoenix won, while being given the exhausting task of containing Suns star guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker as well as scoring.

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“There’s a great challenge for Jrue. The amount of effort it takes, and that we’re putting on his shoulders defensively, is significant. But it’s the finals. Everybody has got to be able to do it at a high level on both ends of the court,” AFP quoted Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer as saying.

“Certainly appreciate and respect what Jrue has got to do defensively and do it on big minutes. But we feel like he can do both. He can deliver in a big way on defense and still deliver in a big way on offense, too,” Budenholzer added.

So far, Holiday has not been able to do what his team and coach expected him to do. The Bucks could not add to and support a 42-point, 12-rebound effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo in game two.

Apart from Holiday’s efforts, it did not help the Bucks cause that Khris Middleton went 5-of-11 for 11 points and 1-of-6 from 3-point range in game two.

“We’ve got to help him out a little bit,” Holiday admitted after the game.

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That means having the energy to attack late after racing around the court after Booker and Paul all night.

“It has literally been like that this whole playoff experience. I am not complaining. I signed up for it. That’s the reason why I’m here. At times it might get tiring for offense and I know I am just going to have to exhaust myself on defense. But that’s where everybody else, and even me at times, have to step up and do different things,” Holiday said.

Paul and Booker have the most points over two games of any finals backcourt in half a century, which is especially annoying to Holiday.

“I do not like being scored on. It just is not my nature. It bugs me to my core. Even against the best players in the world, I like to be able to stop somebody from scoring and go down there and score on you,” Holiday said.

Milwaukee’s PJ Tucker says more attacking play from Holiday is vital to unlocking the Bucks offensively.

“For Jrue, playing both sides, we definitely need him to be more aggressive, as aggressive as possible,” Tucker said. “Because when he’s playing like that, it kind of unlocks everything else for our team. But he’s capable. It’s what he does.”