Sitting out gives Sixers' Holiday taste of NBA
Rookie Jrue Holiday is the only player on the 76ers' roster who was not called on in Tuesday's exhibition win over the New York Knicks. Yesterday, he was asked whether he could remember the last time he suited up and did not get on the court.
"I don't think that's ever happened," said the 6-foot-4 point guard, who was the 2008 Gatorade national player of the year at Campbell High in Chatsworth, Calif.
Jrue Holiday got a taste of life in the NBA.
Holiday and his teammates had just finished practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and were scheduled to take a 3 p.m. flight to Phoenix for tonight's game against the Suns.
Holiday, who averaged 13.3 minutes and 6.0 points in the Sixers' first three exhibition games, figures into this weekend's plans, according to coach Eddie Jordan.
"He'll probably play more than he has in the past," Jordan said.
After just a year at UCLA, Holiday came to the Sixers as the No. 17 overall pick in the June draft. He won't turn 20 until June, and he landed with a squad that has experienced guards Lou Williams, Willie Green and Royal Ivey stacked in front of him.
Ivey was the reason Holiday stayed on the bench against the Knicks.
"As the game went along, I liked Royal and what he did for us," Jordan said. "And it got to a point where I thought their guards were really into the game, and I didn't want him going in there and getting his feet wet while those guys were playing at a high level. I felt bad about it, but that's life in the NBA, and he understands. I talked to him."
The Sixers and Suns also will meet Sunday in Monterrey, Mexico.
"It's like keeping the sheep together," Jordan joked about the trip. "Don't lose anybody. Let's keep everybody together. Do your thing and come back home in one piece. It's only [three] days, but it's different."
The Sixers, who improved to 4-0 in the preseason with a 93-85 win at New York, left town with everybody healthy except for new addition Rodney Carney, a reserve forward who is nursing a hamstring injury. He will not travel with the team.
Despite their perfect record, the Sixers admittedly have been uneven as they try to execute the Princeton offense installed by Jordan. They will face a Phoenix squad that is 2-2.
What are their goals against Steve Nash and the Suns?
"Play at a high level energy-wise, but mostly have the offense come together a little bit more," Jordan said.
Holiday did not deny that he was bothered by sitting on the bench Tuesday night. But he received words of encouragement from third-year forward Thaddeus Young and Williams, a five-year veteran who joined the Sixers out of high school and has been through it, too.
"The hardest thing for me - and I think he can relate to this - I came in and had all these awards as the best high school player, and then coming in and starting from zero," said Williams, who is now a starter. "He was a little down about not playing in that last preseason game, and I spoke to him about my experiences. And these past couple of days in practice, he's been competing very hard."
Holiday said he is keeping the faith.
"They told me there would be different opportunities, and once my opportunity comes, to make the most of it," he said. "That's what I'm waiting for, and that's what I'm going to do."
Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.
