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10 NBA Starters Who Might Be Better Off As Sixth Men

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 23, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) dribbles as New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) defends during the second half at Verizon Center. The Washington Wizards won 109 - 89. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) dribbles as New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) defends during the second half at Verizon Center. The Washington Wizards won 109 - 89. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 23, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) shoots a layup against the Washington Wizards during the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Jrue Holiday

We’re cheating a little bit here, since Jrue Holiday has come off the bench in far more games (39) than he’s started in (14) this season. But since Holiday is a starting-caliber player in this league when he’s healthy, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that he’s quietly developed into quite a bench factor.

In his 14 starts this season, the banged up Holiday averaged a less than impressive 11.1 points and 4.5 assists per game on 40.4 percent shooting from the field, with the New Orleans Pelicans going 4-10 in those games.

In 39 appearances coming off the bench, the Pellies have posted a vastly superior 19-20 record, with Holiday averaging 17.1 points, 6.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game on 44.6 percent shooting. He’s been a -3.4 as a starter, as opposed to a +2.9 with the reserves.

NOLA’s season is all but lost at this point, but with Holiday no longer capable of playing starter’s minutes on a game-to-game basis, it’s safe to say that preserving his health is key, which means his role moving forward will be that of sixth man.

Next: No. 2