Jrue Holiday, Celtics ‘Very Confident’ They Can Beat Bucks

Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks against the Boston Celtics.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to trade Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard wasn’t an easy one. While Lillard is the better player, what Holiday does defensively is tough to replace. Milwaukee has found that a challenge this season as the defense has been the worst it’s been in years. It doesn’t help that he ended up with the Boston Celtics.

Holiday seems to be enjoying himself with the Celtics. He was lucky enough to be traded to a contending team and might even have a better chance of winning a championship with the Celtics than he did with the Bucks. When asked about how it’ll be to go back on Thursday, January 11, Holiday seemed confident. Jay King of The Athletic reported what the defensive-minded guard had to say.

“Uh, we’re a good team. We’ve beaten them before and I’m very confident we have a good chance to beat them again. So to be able to go back to Milwaukee should be fun. … I was there for three years and we did great things there but I’m on to better things.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo Loved Jrue Holiday

When the trade initially happened, it took the NBA by storm. Lillard was expected to get traded to the Miami Heat and the Bucks weren’t even a team mentioned. Holiday was also blindsided by the news, which could be why he feels slighted.

The trade, somehow, helped the Celtics.

Giannis Antetokounmpo loved Jrue. He helped him win his first NBA title and Giannis will always appreciate him for that. After the deal, Giannis sat down with Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and showed love to Holiday.

“Jrue is my f–king brother for life. I love his family. I love him. I appreciate him. I wish him nothing but the best. He blessed me with a f–king championship,” Antetokounmpo told B/R. “He’s the one who made that huge steal in Game 5 of the Finals. I went to battle with him multiple times. F–k basketball. F–k the media shit. This guy is my brother for life, and it’s always going to be like that. He’s going to thrive wherever he ends up.

Giannis Now Focused on Winning

Losing his ‘brother’, as Giannis liked to call him, was tough. However, he understood that it was a business and the Bucks had to do what they had to do. In the same interview with Haynes, Antetokounmpo talked about how it’s time to win with Lillard.

“It’s a bittersweet day for the city of Milwaukee. You get Dame, who is a great player, but you lose a great guy. Jrue took us to the promised land. I’m 10 years in now. I know it’s a business. At the end of the day, Jrue will alway be be my brother for life. He’s one of the best human beings I’ve been around. But we’ve got to focus on the goal to win the championship. Dame wants this. He’s hungry to win, and he’s going to push us. I’m very happy to have him on our team.”

Jrue and Giannis will meet again for the first time since the trade in Milwaukee on January 11, 2024,  as the Boston Celtics look to take down the Milwaukee Bucks.