New Orleans Pelicans perception vs. reality: Jrue Holiday’s defense

The New Orleans Pelicans need an elite defensive presence on the perimeter, and Jrue Holiday has built a reputation as a top flight defender. So, everything is great…right?

When Jrue Holiday was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, his defense was often cited as one of his most desirable skills. His length, quickness and cool head were all supposed to help him establish a stifling wall of opposition when paired with the shot blocking maestro, Anthony Davis. The only problem is that neither player has really lived up to their billing on that end of the floor.

Jrue Holiday is a good defender. In fact, he is one of the three best defensive players on the roster. Few other Pelicans can chase three positions around the floor, provide smothering on-ball defense and disrupt ball movement like Jrue Holiday. Unfortunately, the Pelicans didn’t expect Holiday to be a good defender; they expected him to be a great one.

During his time in New Orleans, most of his defensive statistics have taken a noticeable dive when compared to his time in Philadelphia. His defensive win shares, which were over two per season in every season except his rookie campaign while in Philadelphia (they peaked at 3.5), have never surpassed the two per season mark while in New Orleans, according to basketball-reference. His defensive box plus/minus was a net neutral (0.0) during his time in Philadelphia, but he has graded out negatively (-1.0) in the Crescent City.

The player tracking data found at stats.nba is not exactly kind to the player who has built his reputation on his defense either. Failing to hold his opponent to a shooting percentage less than their average from any range, the opposing team had no trouble putting the ball in the basket with Holiday defending the shot, despite his impressive length. As the de facto primary defender at the guard position, the Pelicans need Holiday to contest shots at a more effective rate if they want to improve their bottom of the barrel defense.

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It is likely that his usage plays a role in his diminishing defensive impact. In the 2015-16 season, Jrue Holiday shouldered an excessively large burden on the offensive end as a result of the injuries (28.9 percent), and his production was simply astounding. It is entirely possible that the dependence on Holiday to score baskets and create for his teammates sapped too much of his energy to play hard-nosed defense.

When looking at his career numbers, Holiday has been a dramatically more effective offensive player in New Orleans than he was in Philadelphia. Maybe, just maybe, the expectations for Jrue Holiday need to be reset. In terms of total win shares, the 2015-16 season was actually an improvement over his All-Star campaign in Philadelphia. Instead of making a decisive impact on the defensive end, Holiday’s ability as a floor general was his calling card.

Jrue Holiday’s true shooting percentage and assist percentage both reached career highs in his most recent season with the New Orleans Pelicans despite his usage rate, and he has been steadily improving in both regards during his tenure alongside Anthony Davis. His ability to lead the offense as both a distributor and scorer resulted him posting his highest player efficiency rating of his career (19.7), which is a general statistic used to gauge a player’s general production.

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Holiday’s undeniable chemistry with the team’s resident superstar, Anthony Davis, and his steady improvement in offensive efficiency makes him a near force of nature on the offensive end of the floor. As a bonus, his defense isn’t half bad, either. So, It is possible it is time to look elsewhere for the team’s resident defensive stopper. Jrue Holiday has found a new role, and fans certainly shouldn’t complain.