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This moment is exactly why the Boston Celtics went out and got Jrue Holiday.
When president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the rest of the front office sat down after last season to piece together their next steps following Boston’s NBA Eastern Conference finals loss to Miami, a question hovered over them.
How much were they willing to shake up the core of a team that had lost in the NBA Finals in 2022 and then came up a game short of returning the following season?
In the end they opted to swing big, trading longtime point guard Marcus Smart as part of the deal that netted 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis. Then, after Milwaukee traded Holiday to Portland to get Damian Lillard, the Celtics pounced, dealing former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and big man Robert Williams III to get Holiday.
The bold moves have proven to be exactly what the Celtics needed, helping produce a 64-win regular season, a romp through the first three rounds of the playoffs and a 2-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.
For the defensive-minded Holiday, whose defense limited Kyrie Irving, combined with a 26-point,11-rebound effort helped Boston salvage its 105-98 Game 2 victory, it’s the latest example that Holiday is where he is meant to be.
“I think that this is what was supposed to happen. And I’m glad that I’m here and I’m glad that I’m in this moment,” Holiday said prior to the start of the Finals.
“(Celtics coach) Joe Mazzulla has talked about that a lot, especially this season is being in the moment, and that’s what I’ve tried to do.
