Everyone was on the same page for the Boston Celtics‘ NBA Playoffs opener against the Miami Heat. Joe Mazzulla’s squad showed no mercy and fired on all cylinders with Jayson Tatum leading the way through his first postseason triple-double. The ball moved through every member of the team very smoothly and their defensive execution was impeccable. Jrue Holiday, in particular, prevented Tyler Herro and the other opposing guards from popping off in this matchup.
Tyler Herro was limited to only knocking down four out of his 13 field goal attempts. He only managed to sink three of his shots from the three-point line too. All of this was thanks to Jrue Holiday. The Celtics guard locked up everyone who was assigned to him and any person who came across him on the switch. No one on the Heat was safe from his defensive wrath.
Jayson Tatum saw how much Jrue Holiday was pouring into his first Celtics NBA Playoffs game and had to give his flowers, via Noa Dalzell of SB Nation.
“Jrue does all the things that may not always show up on the stat sheet. Every single night, his presence, his ability to screen, always wants to guard the best player and take tendencies away. Jrue’s a champion,” the Celtics superstar declared.
Holiday was a Swiss army knife for the Celtics. Despite only going two for eight on his shots from the field for six points, his offensive arsenal allowed him to drop three assists. The Celtics star guard’s knack for getting into good positions to box out also allowed him to snag seven rebounds.
The defense was where he shined the most. He jumped on every opportunity to contest shots and even got two blocks out of it. Whenever the Heat’s main ball handler faced him, it was wraps. Holiday even snatched the ball twice for Joe Mazzulla’s team.