Jrue Holiday was a surprise scratch for the Trail Blazers as they faced the Mavericks on Sunday. Holiday didn’t start on the injury report, but a calf issue forced him to sit the overtime loss in Dallas. It also meant the Blazers were without their top three point guards on the night as they fell to 6-7 on the season.
Holiday has been a crucial piece for the Blazers as a veteran presence and as their point guard. He’s averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and a career-high 8.3 assists through 12 games to open the year. Portland is without point guards Scoot Henderson and Blake Wesley, highlighting how important Holiday is for the roster.
It doesn’t sound like Holiday’s calf injury is anything long-term as he tested it ahead of the Mavs game. But the Blazers will look to get healthy so they don’t have to lean on the 35-year-old Holiday for a heavy workload over the course of a long season.
The Blazers started off strong at 5-3, though they’ve lost four of their past five games. They’re also navigating uncertainty after coach Chauncey Billups was arrested for his alleged involvement in illegal gambling schemes. Interim coach Tiago Splitter has led the team since Billups was arrested.
Holiday was traded from the Celtics to the Blazers over the offseason in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons. Holiday saw his production dip last season for the Celtics, though he wasn’t asked to do as much on a loaded roster. Regardless, he’s proven he can still be a stellar player for the Blazers as a starting guard.
Simons has struggled to be a consistent threat for the Celtics coming off the bench. He’s had big scoring nights, but otherwise, there are other nights where he doesn’t make much of an impact. But the Holiday-Simons trade was made mainly for financial reasons as the Celtics shed significant money off their payroll over the offseason.
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