Jrue Holiday hasn't played since November 14th, when he suffered a right calf strain in the Portland Trail Blazers' blowout loss to the Houston Rockets. The veteran guard was initially given a reevaluation timeline of one to two weeks. Since then, the Blazers have lost seven of their last nine games, falling to tenth in the Western Conference standings with an 8-13 record.
This recent stretch has shown how vital Holiday's playmaking and veteran presence are for a young Blazers team. At the same time, it's also exposed flaws in the Blazers' approach to acquiring an aging, somewhat injury-prone star in the first place.