PHILADELPHIA — Jrue Holiday said back in January that his shoulder injury could linger going forward. That indeed appeared to be the case as the Celtics starter missed the final four games ahead of the All-Star break. The training staff decided to shut him down for a short period, letting his shoulder heal up.
Holiday last played in a game back on Feb. 4, the win over the Cavaliers on the road. Since he’s off the injury report for Thursday’s game against the 76ers, that gave him 16 days between games to rest up. Holiday said he’s feeling a lot better now as the time off seemingly worked setting him up for the second half of the season.
“It’s been bothering me for a little bit,” Holiday said after Thursday’s shootaround. “Then obviously, me feeling it more and more, I guess we felt like it was time to give it a little bit of a break. Glad I got the opportunity to. ... Felt good today. It’s been feeling good for a while now.”
The Celtics will be whole for Thursday’s game coming out of the break, only missing reserve big Xavier Tillman. They played their final few games without Holiday or Jaylen Brown as the C’s finished strong. They won seven of their final eight games before the All-Star break, looking more like their contending selves after a midseason lull.
Holiday is averaging 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 44 games this season thus far. His counting stats have taken a slight dip compared to his first season with the Celtics. But more importantly, the C’s will look to keep Holiday healthy for the rest of the season and beyond in the playoffs. They need the former All-Star to be at his best when the lights are brightest, after all.
“It was the trainers,” Holiday said. “Sometimes they gotta save you from yourself. Especially for me, if I’m at the game I want to play. You play through injuries; you play through being hurt. Sometimes it’s smarter to take a little bit of time, especially since we have the second half of the season.”
