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By Seth Quinn
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks' second-round series kicks off on Monday at TD Garden.
After a short but physical series with the Orlando Magic, Jrue Holiday's injury status for Game 1 has been revealed after missing the last three games.
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This is huge news for the Celtics, especially with Holiday likely being the primary defender against star point guard Jalen Brunson.
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Holiday's versatility on both ends of the floor was sorely missed in the first round with the Orlando Magic, despite the team finishing them off in five games. It isn't a surprise the one game the team lost was the first game they had to adjust to playing without Holiday in the starting lineup.
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In Holiday's absence, Al Horford stepped into the starting lineup admirably, but the team is much different with Holiday in the lineup. He was a clutch player who stepped up when the team needed him in last year's playoff run that capped off with a title over the Dallas Mavericks.
Holiday is considered by many NBA players to be the best defender in the entire league, so any team that has a standout start leading the charge offensively, which will be every team the Celtics face, can be limited by Holiday.
That is a huge x-factor for the team. If all things go as expected the rest of the playoffs. The Celtics will likely have Holiday guarding Donovan Mitchell for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander for the Oklahoma City Thunder after he guards Jalen Brunson in this series.
He also could be asked to guard Tyrese Haliburton, Jamal Murray, Anthony Edwards, or Steph Curry.
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All are elite offensive players that almost nobody in the league can guard. That makes the health of Holiday for this series and beyond extremely important if the team wants any chance to repeat as champions.
All of that discussion about his elite defense undermines his importance on offense as well. He scored 24 points combined in the first two games of the playoffs, and averaged 11 points and four assists on 35% shooting from beyond the arc.
Those numbers don't jump off the page, but on a team loaded with offensive talent, he plays his role perfectly.
Hamstring injuries in any sport can be worrisome, so it will be interesting to see how his health stands going forward in the playoffs, but for now, Celtics fans should be ecstatic that he is completely off the injury report and a full-go for Game 1 against the Knicks.
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