The Boston Celtics were able to finish off the Orlando Magic in five games despite missing Jrue Holiday for the back half of the series.
Holiday’s energy and effort on both ends of the floor, but especially on the defensive end, were sorely missed, and Celtics fans know the team needs him to return if they want any chance of repeating as champions.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla provided an injury update for Holiday, which fortunately for Celtics fans, seems leaning towards a positive, albeit cryptic, update.
Joe Mazzulla on Jrue Holiday practicing yesterday:
“He was able to do everything that we worked on. Getting better every day.”
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) May 3, 2025
The update doesn’t necessarily mean he will certainly play in Game 1 against the Knicks, but it is promising at least.
Holiday could become extra valuable for the Celtics in this series, given the Knicks are a bit more guard-centric than the Magic. Jalen Brunson is their best player, and Holiday has a good chance to give him problems, given his defensive prowess and size advantage over Brunson.
The Celtics do have other options to defend Brunson, but Holiday seems like the clear best option. Holiday also has the versatility to defend secondary scorers like Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, especially after watching him give Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, two much bigger players, problems.
Al Horford would most likely step into the starting lineup once again if Holiday were to miss out in Game 1, but it might be more of a difficult decision for Mazzulla. The Knicks are a bit smaller than the Magic and rely on Brunson, so running double bigs may be a bad idea. That could mean someone like Payton Pritchard is more of a natural fit in the starting lineup than Horford against the Knicks.
Another interesting aspect of this series is how much Holiday will be used on switches on defense, especially with him coming back from a hamstring injury. With Karl-Anthony Towns at center, that is an even bigger mismatch on paper than Paolo Banchero was, but Holiday is so good defensively it seems possible he can handle it once in a while.
Overall, Celtics fans should feel good about this upcoming series with the Knicks whether Holiday plays the whole series or not.
However, Holiday’s return would be a huge addition to the team and would likely be a contributing factor to the series ending quicker. The Celtics, fully healthy, can easily take down the Knicks in four or five games.
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