{"id":67286,"date":"2023-12-26T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.celticsblog.com\/2023\/12\/26\/24014960\/jrue-holiday-is-indicative-of-boston-celtics-reinvention-3-1-west-coast-road-trip-los-angeles-lakers"},"modified":"2023-12-26T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:00:00","slug":"jrue-holiday-is-indicative-of-the-celtics-reinvention-on-3-1-west-coast-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2023\/12\/26\/jrue-holiday-is-indicative-of-the-celtics-reinvention-on-3-1-west-coast-road-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Jrue Holiday is indicative of the Celtics\u2019 \u201creinvention\u201d on 3-1 west coast road trip"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Luis Sinco \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boston struck gold with their offense against the Warriors, Kings, Clippers, and Lakers.<\/p>\n

Call it the Celtics<\/a>\u2019 California Gold Rush of 2023.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, Boston welcomed some winter weather. The team was coming off a disappointing loss to the Pacers in the In-Season Tournament and staring at a challenging homestand that included a game against the Knicks<\/a> and then back-to-back two-game series against two top-10 defenses in the Cavaliers and Magic. The Celtics slogged through and swept all five games.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no rest for the weary however. An all-California four-game road trip followed. Head coach Joe Mazzulla didn\u2019t necessarily treat it as a business trip, but rather as an opportunity for more growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came in with the theme of reinventing our offense as far as our off-ball activity, the ability to execute off-ball vs. switching. I thought we did that,\u201d Mazzulla said after Boston beat LA 126-115 on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n

The 3-1 road trip recorded the second (35), third (33), and fourth (31) highest assist totals for Boston all season. And as Mazzulla is fond of noting, it\u2019s not about assists but rather potential assists<\/em>. Over the four-game stretch in the Pacific standard time zone, the Celtics averaged nearly 50 potential assists per game; in those slobberknocker slugfests against the New York, Cleveland, and Orlando, that number was down to 40.<\/p>\n

For much of this last week, much of the focus has been on evolving games of Boston\u2019s two franchise cornerstones, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. With the talent now surrounding them, they\u2019ve sacrificed shot attempts for playmaking and playing without the ball in their hands. However, it\u2019s also been a role change their new teammates, particularly Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.<\/p>\n

Instead of being an offensive hub in Washington, KP has become a versatile threat and play finisher. He\u2019s getting his looks in the pick-and-pop and punishing mismatches in the post. Holiday\u2019s evolution might be a little more dramatic. Again, Mazzulla stressed the word \u201creinvent\u201d in his postgame comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re seeing Jrue reinvent his game as far as playing off the ball, playing when the matchup is on him and being involved in different defensive schemes,\u201d Mazzulla said.<\/p>\n

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