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The Milwaukee Bucks took everyone by surprise when they traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Damian Lillard. Given that Lillard was largely anticipated to join the Miami Heat and with Holiday being an instrumental piece for the Bucks, the trade was particularly surprising.
Now, this trade had many fans and experts pegging the Bucks as championship favorites. Although they were already there before, getting Lillard, especially after getting knocked out in the opening round of last year’s playoffs, made them even stronger contenders.
However, not everyone is convinced that trading Holiday for Lillard is a significant upgrade. Take former NBA head coach George Karl, who suggests that Holiday could be even better than Lillard, highlighting Holiday’s intangibles and defense over Lillard’s numbers.
“I think Lillard probably makes them more exciting, more explosive. I think he’ll go in there with some excitement being on a team that can win the championship. But to be honest with you, in the playoffs, Holiday might be better than Lillard. I know statistically that won’t prove out but the intangibles that Holiday brings to the game, that’s what wins playoff games. The little things. The defensive ability to move around and cover different players. And, I think you can give Holiday some credit. He became a pretty good offensive player last season.”
“In the playoffs, [Jrue] Holiday might be better than [Damian] Lillard.”
Former Bucks Head Coach and Hall of Famer George Karl weighed in on the Damian Lillard trade.@CoachKarl22 | @TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/wa2QSNAJPe
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 30, 2023
