Two seasons after losing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics made a comeback. The Boston Celtics took certain steps this past offseason to ensure success if the team finds itself in a similar situation again, even though Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum continue to lead the squad. The Celtics dominated the postseason this year, winning the franchise’s 18th championship in five games by easily defeating the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics once again revamped their backcourt by moving on from veteran player and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. The team had already made the astute decision to acquire Derrick White before their previous Finals run. In essence, Boston replaced his output with that of Julius Holiday, a more seasoned offensive player who was already a champion and has defensive skills akin to those of Smart. Despite some concern with moving the team’s defensive core, the fit worked perfectly as Holiday swiftly replaced Smart as Boston’s new defensive nuisance by showcasing his own exceptional defensive abilities from the moment he put on a Celtics uniform.
With Holiday having played in the NBA for 14 seasons prior to his acquisition, the Celtics understood they would not be getting the greatest version of him as he entered his mid-30s. Rather, Holiday performed well in his role as a third, fourth, or fifth option when the Celtics needed him to. Holiday was successful in this capacity during his first Boston season. With Kristaps Porzingis, the second big addition to the Celtics, the team has an array of offensive options, as one or two starters alternately put on strong performances in each game.
After winning a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, Holiday had already shown himself to be a capable third option on a winning team. In fact, he was often the team’s best player outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Before that, he was Anthony Davis’s reliable running partner when Davis was playing for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Throughout his career, Holiday has never had to defer to his teammates as much, but an underappreciated part of the Celtics’ incredible season is the veteran’s willingness to do his part and step up when necessary. Although he had lead option experience in the past, it turned out that he was more effective in a supplementary role on a team that was in contention.
With the league’s recent emphasis on scoring, real perimeter lockdown defenders seem to be hard to come by, but Smart and Holiday are definitely among them. Aware of this, the Celtics seized the chance to enhance and replace a valuable player from their previous postseason campaigns. Thanks to a lottery-bound Portland Trail Blazers squad and the Bucks’ justified obsession with superstar point guard Damian Lillard, Boston was able to acquire Holiday’s versatile skill set for a fair price.
Although Smart’s numbers with the Celtics were comparable to Holiday’s this season, Boston became a more formidable club almost immediately thanks to Holiday’s superior shooting accuracy and offensive variety, particularly in the postseason.
