Hoops Habit
Fansided

Milwaukee Bucks: Is Jrue Holiday’s Game 3 performance sustainable?

By Zamir Bueno

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 03: Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrates a three point basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals at State Farm Arena on July 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 03: Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks celebrates a three point basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals at State Farm Arena on July 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday had a nice bounce-back game in a Game 3 victory in the NBA finals against the Phoenix Suns. He shot 57.1 percent from the field on 14 shots, which allowed him to score 21 points.

Holiday’s performance in Game 3 was significantly better than the first two games of the finals, where he shot 31.4 percent from the field on 17.5 shots per game. The field goal percentage allowed him to average 13.5 points over the first two games.

Let’s take a look at whether Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday can sustain his Game 3 performance for the rest of the NBA Finals.

But can Holiday maintain his Game 3 performance for the rest of the series? It is unlikely, as most of his points came from behind the arc. Holiday made 40 percent of his catch and shoot threes in the third game of the NBA finals on 5 attempts.

Catch and shoots accounted for 50 percent of his total threes, as he shot 50 percent from behind the arc on 10 attempts. Holiday’s 3-point shooting accounted for 71.4 percent of his production as he generated 15 points from behind the arc.

Unfortunately, Jrue Holiday has a history of being an inconsistent shooter throughout his career. Holiday converted 35.6,30.1, 39.5,35.4, and 36.4 of his catch and shoots in the five seasons before coming to Milwaukee on 1.7 attempts per game.

His inconsistency on catch and shoots played a vital role in him shooting 34.1 percent from behind the arc on 4.7 attempts. Holiday shot the ball well during his first regular-season in Milwaukee as he made 37.9 percent of his catch and shoots on 2 shots. Catch and shoots were responsible for 41.6 percent of the attempts as he shot 39.2 percent from behind the arc on 4.8 attempts per game.

Unfortunately, Holiday, once again, suffered a dip in his 3-point shooting during the playoffs as he converted 31 percent of his catch and shoots over the first 19 playoff games on 2.2 attempts per game. Catch and shoots accounted for 36.7 percent of his attempts, as he shot 28.9 percent from behind the arc on 6 shots per game.

Holiday’s performance would have inspired more confidence if the team accentuated his strengths. Holiday has excelled in the role of ball-handler. His best season came during the 2018-19 campaign, where he touched the ball 86 times per game: a career-high during the regular season.

More from Milwaukee Bucks

Holiday’s touches allow him to attack the basket 16.6 times per game, shooting 52 percent from the field on 7.7 attempts per game. The shooting percentage allowed him to generate 9.7 points per game: 46.2 percent of his scoring output.

Sadly, Holiday touched the ball 82 times during game three, contributing to him attacking the basket 11 times. He shot 100 percent from the field on these drives, on 2 shots, scoring 4 points.

It is unlikely that Holiday will see a dramatic increase in his touches due to Milwaukee’s offensive system. The Milwaukee Bucks an offense centered around transitions, isolations, and post-up possessions. This team led the league during the regular season, averaging 22.1 transition possessions per game.

Holiday only accounted for 14.5 percent of those possessions, as he averaged 3.2 per game. The majority of the team’s transition possessions went to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who accounted for 29.9 percent of those possessions, averaging 6.6 per game.

He was third on the team in isolation possessions as he averaged 2.1 per game. Like the transition possessions, Milwaukee gave most of their isolation possessions to Giannis Antetokounmpo as he averaged 4.5 per game: 45.9 percent of the total possessions.

Jrue Holiday was only slightly involved in the team’s post-up possessions as he averaged 0.8 per game. Milwaukee decided to feature Giannis Antetokounmpo in the post, as he averaged 3.3 per game: 42.9 percent of the team’s possessions.

If Holiday had scored those points in the role of ball-handler instead of a floor-spacer, his performance would have inspired more confidence.

dark. Next. NBA: Playing smoke or fire with superstar trades

Home/Milwaukee Bucks