The Portland Trail Blazers remain undefeated after a 3-0 start, showing how well this crowded backcourt is working together early on. The importance of Jrue Holiday serving as that unselfish, versatile sixth man can't be overstated. He's a huge factor off the bench as that glue guy to simultaneously fill in multiple holes on this roster when he checks in.
Is there a better sixth man in the league than Jrue Holiday?
Some preseason picks to win Sixth Man of the Year included Boston's Payton Pritchard, Oklahoma City's Ajay Mitchell, Minnesota's Ayo Dosunmu, and even Denver's DeMar DeRozan. I wouldn't take any of those players over Holiday, even at age 36.
Jrue Holiday has become the ideal sixth man in Portland
He's everything you want in a sixth man, providing that calming veteran presence that allows the remaining starting unit to function without skipping a beat. A huge strength of Portland's right now is the amount of decision-makers and playmakers they have on the court at all times. Thanks to Holiday, that remains a strength throughout the entirety of the game. We've seen it result in incredibly efficient offense.
Plus, Holiday even provides a defensive upgrade as he gives Portland's perimeter defense more size and versatility. Head coach Micah Nori has done a great job rotating this backcourt to play to the strengths of particular matchups or situations. That even means subbing offense for defense with his stars when necessary.
Whether it's Dame's shooting, Ja's playmaking, or Jrue's two-way game, Nori has all these buttons to press when needed throughout the game. He's used all those options to start the season, and that flexibility Holiday provides has been invaluable.
Entering the season, it wasn't 100 percent clear whether Dame and Ja would be starting in the backcourt together. Even Nori himself was reportedly questioning the fit. However, early on, this pairing is working even better than expected. It's the unselfishness of all these star guards in Portland that is making them play high-level hoops to start the season. And it's Holiday's versatility that makes it all work.
With Morant thriving alongside Dame and Holiday making an early case as Sixth Man of the Year, there's no reason for Nori to shake up this working formula. This was expected to be something Nori -- a first-year head coach taking a roster with four starting-caliber point guards -- would have to experiment with as the season progressed. Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Holiday has been an integral part of Portland's success to start the season, proving GM Joe Cronin right for keeping him around this summer. And should this success continue, Holiday will have a strong case as Sixth Man of the Year.
But most importantly for Portland, the messy backcourt fit actually appears to be organized chaos. It's a working formula that Holiday remains a huge part of, even coming off the bench.
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