Bucks acquire Jrue Holiday - Trade done - Bucks 2022 to CLE unprotected

[skones]

He's way better than I thought. I was too used to Bledsoe's shenanigans.

I'd prefer to say Jrue is a better fit for this roster than Bledsoe.

We all got Bledsoe's issues. But in ranking all-time franchise PG's over the past 50-years, Bledsoe is easily in the top ten, probably higher. He was a hell of a player for us, at a time when we needed him.

Jrue would be a better fit *on every roster in the NBA* than Bledsoe. Because he's literally better at everything. Some things he's only a little better, some things he's a lot better. But there isn't a single thing he's worse at.

This just isn't true. Bledsoe is substantially better around the rim and substantially better at getting to the line. That's a poor fit here in MKE given those two things are Giannis strengths. It provides a redundancy that made things very clunky in the playoffs.

[JimmyTheKid]

I'd prefer to say Jrue is a better fit for this roster than Bledsoe.

We all got Bledsoe's issues. But in ranking all-time franchise PG's over the past 50-years, Bledsoe is easily in the top ten, probably higher. He was a hell of a player for us, at a time when we needed him.

Jrue would be a better fit *on every roster in the NBA* than Bledsoe. Because he's literally better at everything. Some things he's only a little better, some things he's a lot better. But there isn't a single thing he's worse at.

This just isn't true. Bledsoe is substantially better around the rim and substantially better at getting to the line. That's a poor fit here in MKE given those two things are Giannis strengths. It provides a redundancy that made things very clunky in the playoffs.

Nah.

[Matches Malone]

He plays with great pace.

I read this in Bud's voice lol

[JimmyTheKid]

He plays with great pace.

I read this in Bud's voice lol

Its so true though. And an underrated, underappreciated part of his game.

[skones]

Jrue would be a better fit *on every roster in the NBA* than Bledsoe. Because he's literally better at everything. Some things he's only a little better, some things he's a lot better. But there isn't a single thing he's worse at.

This just isn't true. Bledsoe is substantially better around the rim and substantially better at getting to the line. That's a poor fit here in MKE given those two things are Giannis strengths. It provides a redundancy that made things very clunky in the playoffs.

Nah.

Cool, well, for those of us who live in reality? We have almost 1400 games between the two of them that definitively say something other than "nah."

So he's not literally better at everything. You are literally wrong.

[soxperry]

I'd prefer to say Jrue is a better fit for this roster than Bledsoe.

We all got Bledsoe's issues. But in ranking all-time franchise PG's over the past 50-years, Bledsoe is easily in the top ten, probably higher. He was a hell of a player for us, at a time when we needed him.

Jrue would be a better fit *on every roster in the NBA* than Bledsoe. Because he's literally better at everything. Some things he's only a little better, some things he's a lot better. But there isn't a single thing he's worse at.

This just isn't true. Bledsoe is substantially better around the rim and substantially better at getting to the line. That's a poor fit here in MKE given those two things are Giannis strengths. It provides a redundancy that made things very clunky in the playoffs.

Bledsoe is great at getting to the rim if he only has to beat one defender and no help comes. The minute it becomes more complex than that, he struggles.

Jrue has far better touch at the rim, knows just how to spin it, can do it with both hands, and his reflexes are top notch so one successful pump fake and hes going to score.

Its night and day

[skones]

Jrue would be a better fit *on every roster in the NBA* than Bledsoe. Because he's literally better at everything. Some things he's only a little better, some things he's a lot better. But there isn't a single thing he's worse at.

This just isn't true. Bledsoe is substantially better around the rim and substantially better at getting to the line. That's a poor fit here in MKE given those two things are Giannis strengths. It provides a redundancy that made things very clunky in the playoffs.

Bledsoe is great at getting to the rim if he only has to beat one defender and no help comes. The minute it becomes more complex than that, he struggles.

Jrue has far better touch at the rim, knows just how to spin it, can do it with both hands, and his reflexes are top notch so one successful pump fake and hes going to score.

Its night and day

Eric Bledsoe shoots 5 percent better inside 3 feet over the course of his career on a higher volume of attempts at the rim. This isn't coincidence. This isn't a small gap.

[Ron Swanson]

Will be interesting to see the at-rim efficiency with Jrue as the season progresses. Even taking his Bucks seasons out of the equation, Bledsoe is/was still clearly the superior finisher. But Jrue currently making 74% of his shots within 3-feet is pretty eye-popping. I expect that to drop, but we'll have to see how much of that is his actual ability (60% career finisher) vs. the byproduct of finally playing in an offense with actual spacing.

[crowhead76]

To be fair, the assessment of Jrue compared to Bledsoe is being made by those of us watching predominately Bucks basketball. In a small sample size, Jrue is shooting 4% better on shots inside 3 feet than Bledsoe's average during his time in Milwaukee. He also finds those shots in a much different manner. The more telling stat would be turnovers committed within 3 feet of the basket. I was a big fan of Bledsoe and believe he did so many of the little things that did not show up in stats, however, he did have a tendency to get caught in the air when driving to the basket.

Also, Bledsoe's numbers at the rim were much more in line with Holiday's when he was in Phoenix. It seems as if playing next to Giannis may be a factor as well.

Jrue has also seemed to been on a steady incline over the course of his career in this area, he has talked about training against bigs in the offseason to improve his strength. I would expect him to have similar numbers to Bledsoe at the rim this year playing next to Giannis.

[Prez]

Jrue is Jimmy like in that he has all the skill level/talent to drop 30 but he’s totally cool with dropping a super impactful 15 and winning. Can shift between go-to guy and Swiss Army knife Iguodala type whenever he wants to. Much like Jimmy I think he’ll turn up the aggression when he really needs to. I still think he has 2017-18 playoff Jrue level in him and he’s going to absolutely destroy some East backcourts in the playoffs if that’s the case.

[Matches Malone]

Jrue is Jimmy like in that he has all the skill level/talent to drop 30 but he’s totally cool with dropping a super impactful 15 and winning. Can shift between go-to guy and Swiss Army knife Iguodala type whenever he wants to. Much like Jimmy I think he’ll turn up the aggression when he really needs to. I still think he has 2017-18 playoff Jrue level in him and he’s going to absolutely destroy some East backcourts in the playoffs if that’s the case.

Agreed!

[tedbrogen]

Jrue might be the best #3 on any team in the league. He's way better all around than the third best Nets player (Kyrie or Harris once Kyrie decides to sit out the season as some bizarre protest). What team has a better third wheel? (I know the Lakers and Nets might have a better top two which could decide things)

[HKPackFan]

I respect and appreciate what Bledsoe brought to this team. And at the time he upgraded the PG position to heights we hadn't seen in a long time.

He took bad and mediocre PG play to good. He was definitely an upgrade to the position. Bledsoe could also flash greatness at times. But he has a well documented down side.

It's just Jrue raises the bar an higher from good to great. And the consistency is higher. There's no peaks and valleys in terms of performance. Also as others stated, Jrue is comfortable being first to 3rd banana in a game depending on the moment and who's in and the flow of the game. He just manages the game at a higher level and can do anything you need as a PG and a teammate.

[DutchManDanFan]

Was the Jrue trade the benchmark for the Harden trade? Houston wanted more picks and swaps then Jrue delivered.

[Ruzious]

A couple of interesting stats to keep an eye on: His steals per 36 minutes are 2.5 - which is tremendous. He's never had more than 1.8 in his entire career. His TS% is .591, and he's never had better than .570 until this season. A key to his improved efficiency has been his 38.9% 3 point shooting. The last 3 seasons, his best percentage was 35.3. His 55.1% on 2's is the 2nd best of his career. And his to's are about half per 36 minutes of what they've been the last couple of seasons. If he can keep up those stats, he'll have his best season even though he's scored and assisted significantly more in some years. He's accepted a somewhat smaller role than he's had in the past, and he's become a more efficient and better player. It's early, so we'll have to see if this continues. I don't see any reason why it won't.

[ABucksFan]

Crazy to think when you're playing with better players/system your numbers get better.

Jrue is a monster and will continue to only get better. The efficiency doesn't surprise me. He's always been slept on and asked to do a lot.

[Brewhoopfan]

Give me the player who can finish AND not constantly end up in the first row making his team defend 4 on 5.

[soxperry]

This just isn't true. Bledsoe is substantially better around the rim and substantially better at getting to the line. That's a poor fit here in MKE given those two things are Giannis strengths. It provides a redundancy that made things very clunky in the playoffs.

Bledsoe is great at getting to the rim if he only has to beat one defender and no help comes. The minute it becomes more complex than that, he struggles.

Jrue has far better touch at the rim, knows just how to spin it, can do it with both hands, and his reflexes are top notch so one successful pump fake and hes going to score.

Its night and day

Eric Bledsoe shoots 5 percent better inside 3 feet over the course of his career on a higher volume of attempts at the rim. This isn't coincidence. This isn't a small gap.

So regular season stats then?

Touch and finish are only subcomponents of that success rate. If youre not being challenged at the rim you dont need to be a gifted finisher.

When you contrast those stats vs their playoff stats you will most likely see that you have proven my original point. That while bledsoe feasts on weak d he has no answer for when things get complicated. Ive already seen many situations this season where Jrue looks dead in the water near the rim and somehow finds an opening, spins it off the backboard and in, making it look very easy.

This isnt the hill to die on but do you

[skones]

So regular season stats then?

Touch and finish are only subcomponents of that success rate. If youre not being challenged at the rim you dont need to be a gifted finisher.

When you contrast those stats vs their playoff stats you will most likely see that you have proven my original point. That while bledsoe feasts on weak d he has no answer for when things get complicated. Ive already seen many situations this season where Jrue looks dead in the water near the rim and somehow finds an opening, spins it off the backboard and in, making it look very easy.

This isnt the hill to die on but do you

You want to know what Bledsoe shot at the rim during that dreadful 18-19 run? 75%.

Point blank, you are now moving goal posts. I haven't "proven your original point," you've now changed yours in its entirety because you're, I'll use your words, choosing a hill to die on without any statistical merit whatsoever. That's what's happening here. You've now gone from inserting yourself in a "better at finishing" argument to "Bledsoe feasting on weak D he has no answer for when things get complicated." Getting to the rim and moving in the in between in the half court is an entirely different skillset than finishing. Nobody is arguing against Bledsoe's playoff warts (much of which probably stem from the mental side of things rather than ability), but here you are making a last ditch attempt to completely nullify your previous statement with, "Yeah, well playoffs" as if you're somehow making a point.

You're not. At best you've managed to build a straw man and make an argument that no one is really countering. Framing Holiday's playoffs stats as if it's somehow a representative sample size is what's really off base. You're using 9 games as the end all be all. I obviously hope Holiday IS that guy when things tighten up in the postseason, but there's a total absurdity in looking at what a guy did in such a limited sample and suddenly making that the expectation. We all saw Paul George fall apart last year and we've all seen Paul George perform really damn well in the playoffs. We saw Middleton absolutely kill Boston in an entire series, and we've seen him fold like a cheap suit against Toronto. Inconsistency is a thing. Holiday hasn't demonstrated anywhere near the level of consistency to act like he's some proven playoff performer because he had a monster first round series against Portland and then got the **** kicked out of them 1-4 in the second round.

The only hill I'm dying on is the rational one where I don't feel the need to just incessantly **** on a guy and make him out to be less of a player than he actually was because he's no longer a Milwaukee Buck. Bledsoe was consistently VERY VERY good during regular season play. He folded when it mattered. That doesn't change what he brought to this club for three seasons.

[Chad34]

https://www.si.com/nba/2021/03/02/jrue-holiday-bucks-missing-link