Kevin Garnett on Jrue Holiday: He’s the Bucks’ best player right now

By HoopsHype | March 19, 2023

What’s the buzz on Twitter? Eric Nehm @eric_nehmThat was an important stretch there. With Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench, the Bucks opened up a six-point lead.Now they enter and the Bucks lead, 103-97, with 6:48 left. – 9:57 PM Eric Nehm @eric_nehmJrue Holiday almost never gets blocked around the rim and the Raptors have gotten him twice tonight. That last one sprung the Raptors’ fastbreak which ended with a Gary Trent Jr. 3.Raptors up, 83-76, with 4:26 left in the third quarter. – 9:30 PM Eric Nehm @eric_nehmJrue Holiday and Pat Connaughton have developed a nice pick-and-roll chemistry this year.Connaughton is a good screen setter and cutter and the Bucks have weaponized Giannis Antetokounmpo off the ball as a cutter on those plays as well.Could be an interesting playoff wrinkle. – 8:55 PM Jimmy Spencer @JimmySpencerUCLA from the West Coast:Reggie MillerRussell WestbrookKevin LoveBill WaltonKareem Abdul-JabbarOr sub:Zach LaVineBaron DavisJrue HolidayKiki – 7:46 PM Josh Lewenberg @JLew1050The last player from a losing team to make NBA All-D was Jrue Holiday in 2018-19 (Pels were 33-49/ranked 22nd on D). Over the last 3 seasons, all 30 players that made it were on teams that won 44+ games & had above average defenses. Raps are on pace for 40 wins & rank 17th on D. – 11:47 AM Eric Nehm @eric_nehmAfter three quarters, the Pacers lead, 104-101.Giannis Antetokounmpo has played just 18 minutes tonight with his foul trouble, but still has 17p/7r/2a.Jrue Holiday leads the Bucks with 18pts/6reb/11ast thus far. – 9:46 PM Eric Nehm @eric_nehmAnd Pat Connaughton has the first bucket tonight as the Bucks go to the middle pick-and-roll with him and Jrue Holiday again. – 8:11 PM Jim Owczarski @JimOwczarskiBobby Portis will start alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Brook Lopez’s absence tonight for the #BucksKhris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Pat Connaughton round out the starters. – 7:47 PM More on this storyline After Lopez secured the block he made off the backboard, there were only 27 seconds remaining. To extend the game, the Warriors would need to foul, so Lopez gave the ball to Holiday, who had just hit a stepback 3 to give the Bucks a 3-point lead. With the ball and potentially the game in hand, Holiday raced up the left sideline and dribbled the ball out of bounds with no real pressure. “Essentially, we had the game, but I was being stupid,” Holiday said. “Honestly, I was just dribbling and that ball didn’t come up, but that’s stupid. I just wanted to get across. I knew they had to foul. But I didn’t want to play with it in the backcourt, just wanted to get it across and then stand there. Stupid play. Stupid play on my part.” -via The Athletic / March 12, 2023 Arenas, speaking on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday, said that he sees some of Jrue Holiday in Bronny and believes he can perform at a high level in the NBA. Arenas: “He reminds me of a more athletic Jrue Holiday. He is a very smart kid. … He will be, at his height, a 19-7-7 type of player. He is going to be a lockdown defender. He’ll make big plays when he needs to. He is going to be the perfect second option. If he gets put on a bad team, and they say you’re going to be the No. 1 option, he has that ability but he is still going to be the guy, like his father: ‘If I have to score 30, I’m going to score 30. But if I see a play for a shooter in the corner at the end of the game, I will make that pass.’ He is more unselfish than LeBron is, too.” -via The Rookie Wire / March 10, 2023 Garnett, along with Kirby Puckett, Randy Moss, Torii Hunter, Prince, and several others, helped change the image of Minneapolis in the 1980s and 1990s. But Garnett said the city has declined considerably in the past few years. “I think they need to actually focus on that instead of the retirement of my jersey,” he said. “I think the city needs to get to a balance, what I used to know it to be, as a great city to live in and a very, very great place to have a home. It’s a little more than just a [jersey] retirement. I think it needs a whole facelift and a whole makeover, to be honest.” -via Boston Globe / March 19, 2023