Justin Holiday Stepping Up for the Warriors Just in Time

Justin Holiday. Not necessarily a name that many Golden State Warriors fans knew a couple months ago.

Fans might know him as the player who won the last spot on the Warriors’ roster out of training camp. Fans might know him from his dazzling performances throughout the 2014 NBA Las Vegas Summer League. Fans might even know him as the brother of former NBA All-Star and current New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday.

No matter how fans learned his name, fans need to start watching and appreciating Holiday’s game and his story.

As we all know, the Warriors have gotten off to a blazing start to this 2014-15 NBA season. They have an NBA-best 29-5 record, and they’ve overcome adversity (injuries to Andrew Bogut, David Lee, etc.) to remain atop the standings.

The Warriors have a much deeper roster this year, which was certainly one of their biggest weaknesses last season. Despite the deeper roster and solid contributions from Marreese Speights and Shaun Livingston, the Warriors lacked some consistent scoring off the bench from the shooting guard position.

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Leandro Barbosa had shown flashes of scoring off the bench, but he wasn’t very consistent and has severely struggled from three-point range this season, as he’s shot just 25.8 percent from three so far this season. Barbosa is a 38.8 percent three-point shooter in his career.

In addition to Barbosa’s struggles, Brandon Rush has not looked at all like the same Rush that played for the Warriors a couple years ago. Perhaps his ACL injury a couple years ago has forever changed his game, but it’s almost sad, from a Warriors fan’s perspective, to see Rush struggle so much and lack the rhythm that he had in his first tenure with the Warriors. His three-point shooting hasn’t shown up, and his explosiveness certainly appears gone or at least diminished.

Rumors even surfaced that the Warriors were looking into signing Ray Allen to add a scoring boost to their bench. That didn’t pan out though.

Enter Holiday.

Holiday was given a chance to prove himself, which is all he’s needed throughout his career.

Holiday has overcome going undrafted, playing overseas in Belgium and Hungary, playing the NBA Development League, and being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Utah Jazz.

He has moved his way up the bench and into the Warriors’ regular rotation. Through the first 25 games of the season, Holiday averaged about two minutes per game, as he really only saw minutes in the Warriors’ blowouts. He even didn’t play in 15 of the Warriors’ first 24 games.

Ever since December 22nd against the Sacramento Kings though, Holiday has been getting more consistent minutes, as Kerr decided to give Holiday a chance.

"“I love having (Barbosa) on the team; he’s the first guy off the bench to cheer for his teammates,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Right now, it’s just Justin’s time. I’ve given him the chance and he’s made the most of it.”"

In that game against the Kings, Holiday scored 18 points and recorded three assists and three rebounds in 20 minutes. He also shot 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-7 from three-point range.

Some other notable performances from Holiday since then include 11 points in 19 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers, 11 points in 15 minutes against the 76ers, 12 points in 28 minutes against the Thunder again, and 14 points in 18 minutes against the Cavaliers.

As Holiday’s minutes increase so does his confidence and his comfort level against NBA competition. Warriors general manager Bob Myers echoed this when speaking of Holiday’s growth and how he’s filled a need that the Warriors had:

"“I see increased confidence in his game,” Myers said Tuesday. “You know, there’s confidence in the Summer League. And there’s confidence in the D-League. But being confident on an NBA floor is different. He was a confident D-League player. He then became a confident Summer League player. And now we’re seeing signs of a confident NBA player.”…“His progression has been a very positive thing for us,” Myers said, measuring his words. “That was a void, a shooter off the bench. And so if he can continue at this rate, stay consistent, it might alleviate that concern.”"

Holiday has taken advantage of this opportunity and has impressed on many levels, including his three-point shooting and his defense. He spreads the floor for the Warriors’ bench unit, and his length allows him to guard and disrupt on the defensive end.

Off the court, Holiday is driven, determined, and hard-working, but he’s also incredibly grateful and humble.

"“It’s a blessing just to sit on the bench and watch this team play,” Holiday said. “So being able to actually play and contribute is finishing my dream.”…“Wherever I was, I just gave it everything I had,” he said. “I wasn’t like, `Well, I’m not in the NBA, so it doesn’t matter.’ I did everything I could to improve my game every year and then come back the next year for another try.”"

Holiday has given the Warriors exactly what they’ve needed so far this season, just in time. He’s started to show some consistency with his shooting, and he’s also chipped in with great perimeter defense. Holiday has earned the opportunity that he’s been given, and he’s also been given the chance to learn from some of the best backcourt players (offensively and defensively) in the NBA, such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala.

The Warriors have had several impressive and special stories throughout the start of this season, but Holiday’s emergence has to be one of the best.

Next: Warriors Mailbag: Game-Winners, Western Conference, Kuzmic

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