New Orleans Pelicans: What should the starting five look like?

Jrue Holiday

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, there is no alternate universe entering next season where Holiday is not the starting two-guard on this roster. According to Malika Andrews of ESPN, here’s what David Griffin had to say about who commands the locker room.

"“This is Jrue Holiday’s team,” Griffin said. “Zion is going to be learning how to win at a really high level. At some point, if there is a time that the baton gets passed in terms of who is expected to carry us to win games, it will. That is not now.”"

Holiday is fresh off his second season in a row in which he secured All-Defensive team honors. He’s picking up momentum in the best two-way players of the NBA conversation—a criterion he should’ve appeared in long ago if not for the team he played on.

He can lock up the oppositions best perimeter weapon, he’s gritty, and plays with infectious passion on the defensive side of the basketball court. His offensive dynamic isn’t too shabby, either.

Last season Holiday played 67 percent of his minutes at the shooting guard position, where he compiled averages of 21.3 points, 7.7 assists, 1.6 steals and had a TS% of 55.5 percent. Turnovers were a nagging problem, he did commit 3.1 a game—but with Zo orchestrating/initiating much of the offense in a halfcourt set that issue should subside.

There’s no debate here. Jrue Holiday will the starting shooting guard entering the 2019/20 season.