Jrue Holidays Best Performances Are All In Losing Efforts

So far this season, as a unit, the New Orleans Pelicans have played quite well. In their first 30 games NOLA has reached a .500 record at 15-15. With every win they’ve notched, Anthony Davis and/ or DeMarcus Cousins has been the teams on court catalyst. Davis this season is averaging an impressive 25.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.6 APG and 2.0 BPG while Cousins has been “lights out” with 26.2 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 5.1 APG and 1.5 BPG. It’s easy to see that these guys have been major contributors to this New Orleans franchise and, when they play at their best, the teams chances of winning are tremendously high. That’s usually the case for a team; when their best players are “on”, winning comes at a stellar rate. However, in the case for the Pelicans third star-player Jrue Holiday, it appears the exact opposite of this logic comes into play.

After inking point guard Jrue Holiday to a five-year, $126 million deal this summer the Pelicans expected big things out of the eight-year veteran. With a full offseason to get acclimated to the talented bunch surrounding him, all signs pointed to a great year for Holiday and the Pelicans. Now, 30 games into the season Holiday, along with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, has helped guide the franchise to a 15-15 record, good enough for the seventh seed in the competitive Western Conference. Couple this with season averages of 18.1 PPG, 5.6 APG and 4.4 RPG and it appears Holiday’s new contract is money well spent by the organization.

Now, although the 27-year old is in fact having a solid year in the statistics department, oddly enough, when he performs at his best the Pelicans struggle to find wins. Usually when one of your star-players shines, the team tends to come out of a contest victorious. For Jrue Holiday, however, this is not the case.

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We have seen many great performances out of Holiday during the early stages of this season. A 34 point, 11 assist and five rebound game against Toronto in mid-November. A 34 point, four assist and six rebound contest against Golden State earlier this month. And, most recently, his best game of the season, posting 37 points, five assists and four boards against the Houston Rockets. And although these statistics scream “great game” for Holiday, these three contests all ended in similar fashion; with a Pelicans loss.

According to ESPN.com, Holidays averages appear to be better in games lost as compared to games won. When the Pelicans win Holiday averages 16.7 PPG, 5.7 APG and 3.9 RPG. In Pelicans losses, Holiday posts a stat-line of 19.5 PPG, 5.5 APG and 4.9 RPG.

Eight times this season Holiday has scored 25 or more points. In those eight games, two of them saw a Pelicans victory. Why it is so hard for the Pelicans to collect a win when Holiday plays his best is quite a quagmire.

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Whatever the answer is to this problem, the Pelicans should figure it out, and fast. Having such great performances coming in losing efforts is a travesty. Hopefully, tonight will be the beginning to the end of this pattern as the Pelicans will be facing off against the WIzards in Washington. Tip-off is at 7:00 ET.

Go Pels’!