The Portland Trail Blazers have overcome frustrating injuries throughout the season and remain in the play-in hunt. Part of that has been due to the stellar play of their veterans, most notably Jrue Holiday. Holiday has become a key part of the Blazers' offense and will be instrumental not only in making the play-in, but also in their chances of making the postseason.
Relying so heavily on veterans for this end-of-season stretch wasn't quite what Blazers fans had in mind, but Portland hasn't really had much of a choice with all the injuries. Holiday has done a great job of steadying the ship and getting the Blazers to this point.
Blazers are getting exactly what they hoped for from Jrue Holiday
You can't put a price on that valuable play-in experience, as Portland's young core needs to be immersed in as many playoff atmospheres as possible. Expectations will be much higher next season with Damian Lillard's return, and this season will be a good experience to help some of those growing pains out of their system before playing more significant postseason basketball.
That's exactly what Portland's front office had in mind when they acquired Holiday (for a second time). He's been as advertised in terms of providing them with veteran leadership and has even exceeded expectations in terms of having plenty of gas left in the tank.
Holiday is in the midst of his best stretch of the season, scoring at least 20 points in each of his last five games. He's shooting 53.6 percent from beyond the arc so far in March!
In all likelihood, the Blazers are going to come up short of the postseason for a fifth consecutive year. If that is the case, it doesn't mean it was a lost season. Their young core has made legitimate progress, despite the up-and-down nature of the injury-riddled season. Holiday has been a huge part of that growth. Next season, he's going to be even more instrumental as Portland takes more of a win-now approach. This was the type of deal that helped Portland both in the short and long term, and it's looking like a steal with the way Holiday has been playing as of late.
Say what you will about his contract, as he's still overpaid. But the Blazers swapped Anfernee Simons for Holiday, meaning they didn't pay a premium in assets; they paid for it by taking on his contract. His impact on this roster is at least making it easier to justify that contract.
It's still a questionable fit as Portland is overpaying a 35-year-old veteran to make a play-in push. But it's a luxury that they can afford for the time being, so we might as well enjoy the ride.