Celtics All-Defensive Star Jrue Holiday Reveals Which Teammate is 'Unguardable'

Jrue Holiday is one of the best defenders in the NBA. He says one of his teammates can't be guarded at all.
Dec 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) dribbles down the court during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
Dec 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) dribbles down the court during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images / Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
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The Boston Celtics have one of the most well-rounded rosters in the entire NBA. They have guys who can score at every level from every part of the court. Boston also has a lot of solid defenders. One of the best defenders in the entire league at the guard spot is Jrue Holiday.

Holiday is an All-Star who has been known throughout his career as an excellent defender. His strength is what allows him to guard almost any position on the court. Even when he is switched onto certain centers, he can hold his own. That's what makes him so valuable to the Celtics.

As good of a defender as Holiday is, he doesn't claim that he can guard everyone. In fact, there's a player on his own team that even he labels unguardable, per Adam Taylor of Celtics Wire/Yahoo Sports. That player is forward Jayson Tatum. Tatum is one of the best players in the entire league, so that's not surprising.

"Nobody can guard him in the league. He's a tough guard," the six-time All-Defensive Teamer said.

Holiday would know if Tatum is unguardable considering his own resume as a primary defender. If Holiday has issues when he switched onto him during practice, You can imagine what he thinks the rest of the league can do against him. Quite frankly, Tatum's stats show that Holiday is right.

Tatum is averaging 28.2 points per game on 45% shooting from the field and 36% from 3-point land. He's someone that has to be double-teamed in certain situations, especially late in games. If he is hot, the Celtics are going to win most games. There's a reason they have only lost five games so far.

As an All-NBA performer, this isn't exactly a tough pick for Holiday. He's one of the five or six best players in the entire league because of his size and his ability to handle the ball. He can take people off the dribble and shoot threes. His three-point shooting should get better later in the season, too.

The only hope that teams have is to force Tatum to shoot a lot of threes and hope he has an off night. Now that he has fixed his shot, it's a lot harder for teams to guard him. There aren't many players across the league who possess the size and quickness necessary to keep him contained.

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