In the first month of this calendar year, Jrue Holiday played just under 30 minutes per game in the Pelicans’ 14 contests. He finished the month with a PER of 23.0, 6th highest among qualifying PGs behind Curry, Paul, Westbrook, Lowry, and Lillard. Yet, as of February 1st, Holiday still remains out of the Pelicans’ starting lineup. Why?
Lots of speculation regarding this question has manifested itself as a result of Holiday’s recent stellar play, from casual fans all the way up to writers for the NBA itself. Compounding the curiosity has been New Orleans’ apparent determination to keep Jrue coming off of the bench even after injuries to guards like Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans.