Memphis Grizzlies: Justin Holiday Has Found Himself After A Rough Start

The Memphis Grizzlies traded for Justin Holiday to help them make a playoff push. It hasn’t gone according to plan but he has started to figure out his role on this team.

The Memphis Grizzlies acquired Justin Holiday to add more wing depth to make a playoff push. They were struggling and were looking to add one of the top wing players on the market. The move was surprising to some but they took and risk and looking back it hasn’t paid off.

In this trade, the Grizzlies sent MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden to the Chicago Bulls. Holiday’s numbers have gone way down since the trade as he is averaging just 7.5 points with the Grizzlies after averaging 11.6 points with the Bulls.

Part of that just has to do with the normal transition goes through while some of it has to do with the struggles he went through. Being on the Grizzlies also provided a tougher competition for minutes as he came to a better team at the time. Since then the Grizzlies have continued to go downhill.

His month of January was very tough as he averaged just six points per game on 28% shooting from the field and 23% from three-point range. Just one of his 15 games that month was with the Bulls so those stats show his struggles with the Grizzlies that month.

During the month of February, he really started to find himself again by averaging 10.6 points per game on 41% shooting including 32% from three-point range. That is still a bit low for him but he has started to get going offensively. He has struggled in the three March games but that does include the game he got hurt and then the two were after that so no reason to be concerned.

We don’t know if he will be in Memphis next season, but with the way he has played, I expect the Grizzlies to do what it takes to keep him. I also thought they were going to try and keep Tyreke Evans and we all know how that turned out.

Holiday has gradually played better but he has had a couple of games that stand out. He was big in a home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves finishing with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He also made two free throws with 0.1 remaining to give Memphis the win but his best offensive performance came in a road win over the New York Knicks.

In that game, he finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and two assists. The majority of his offense came from three-point range as he was 5-10 from beyond the arc, while the corner three is his favorite spot.

His above the break three-pointer has not been good as he is making just below 30% while he shoots above 40% from each of the corners. The right corner is his favorite as he makes 44% from there compared to 40% from the left corner.

Part of the percentages being better is the attempts are way down. It’s tough to get good looks in the corner in today’s game. A lot of players in today’s game prefers the corner compared to the top of the arc as it is shorter than the above the break three-pointer.

The way the Grizzlies played when he first got here was also much different than the way he played in Chicago. Memphis tried to slow down the pace and work the offense while the Bulls would take quicker shots and allow the players to play more freely.

I would say the Grizzlies have adjusted to Holiday just as much if not more so than he has had to adjust to them. A lot of new players coming in at the NBA trade deadline has led to even more changes in playing style which fits more of the players on this team.

The Grizzlies have had to shift nearly completely away from the Grit N’ Grind style of play towards a more up-tempo offensive-minded team. That’s how you win in today’s game and they know that. The team still needs to be able to defend at a high level but the offense has to come first in this league.

Justin Holiday is a good two-way player who has fit in very well to the changes that have been going on with the Grizzlies. It’s still a work in progress so we’ll see have the final 16 games but expect him to continue to play freely compared to the timidness he played with early on after the trade.