How Jrue Holiday's veteran smarts won Game 2 for Celtics

"I'm a utility guy. I'll do whatever," Jrue Holiday said when asked if he considers himself a superstar after his scintillating performance in Boston's Game 2 win over Dallas in the NBA Finals. 

The "do whatever" part doesn't highlight Holiday's high basketball IQ and ability to read in-game situations. Those who closely observed the first half of Sunday's game would have noticed that Boston's cold three-point shooting nearly allowed Dallas to run away with the lead.

As the C's kept missing threes, Holiday had the wherewithal to notice the Mavs were overly focused on guarding the perimeter, which allowed him to attack closeouts, especially from the baseline. Holiday went 6-of-6 at the rim in the first half to keep his team afloat when things could have gone awry. 

After the game, ESPN analyst Tim Legler praised Holiday's in-game awareness of attacking the rim when his teammates nearly shot the Celtics out of the game.

"He just took advantage of what was there on the drives, on the closeouts at the three-point line," Legler said of Holiday, via ESPN. "In a regular season game, maybe he's taking some of those contested threes. I just don't think Boston played well offensively in this game. Jrue Holiday took advantage of the closeouts, took an extra step and got to the rim. On a night when neither team could shoot the three, where are you getting those extra possessions? Jrue did that by attacking the rim and finding other ways to score."

"If Jrue didn't do what he did in the first half, Dallas might be up by six or eight at halftime. That would have felt different to them in the locker room," Legler added. 

To Legler's point, Holiday ensured the C's outscored the Mavs 29-23 in the second quarter to take a 54-51 lead into the break. In the second half, Boston's defense simply overwhelmed Dallas. But if Holiday hadn't made those timely shots in the first half, we could be having a different discussion this Monday.