Holiday returns after rough bout with virus
The last year has redefined “normal” in so many ways the adjective could probably use its own page, but for Jrue Holiday a return to some semblance of it Sunday afternoon was more than welcome.
Just under an hour before the Milwaukee Bucks tipped off against the Los Angeles Clippers, he came out of the locker room in a white T-shirt, grey workout shorts and green and white Nikes. He went through his pre-game routine, curling around picks, pulling up for three around a screener, setting up on the baseline and catching a pass for a layup. He shot free throws. It took about 10 minutes.
One of innumerable warmup sessions in his life, that part was indeed normal.
Once the ball was tipped off at Fiserv Forum, that’s when he felt different.
First, Holiday was on the bench. He couldn’t recall the last time that was the case. When he checked in at the 5 minute, 23 second mark of the first quarter, some anxiety set in.
And after exiting from that first stretch in the game – about a four-anda-half-minute period – he rested his hands on his hips and took some deep breaths. He walked around the Bucks bench and leaned on a cooler and
shared a laugh with Brook Lopez.
“Conditioning, just a little behind,” Holiday admitted. “I felt like I was a step slow. Just being able to play against actual NBA players in an NBA game is so different from in practice or trying to get back when we don’t practice much because we’re midseason and guys need to rest. I just felt like my legs were OK and I was a step slow.”
Playing in a game was perhaps the last large signpost to pass on his road to recovery and whole return to his previous daily life after he said he tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 8 in Denver.
“Don’t know how, don’t know where, just thankful that nobody else got it on the team and my family was safe and nobody got it,” Holiday said. “I had symptoms and it wasn’t fun. But I’m glad that everybody’s OK and I’m OK now.”
Holiday said he lost his senses of taste and smell, had body chills and aches and general fatigue. He tried to stay sharp and positive in quarantine by playing guitar, watching TV shows and FaceTiming with family and friends. He also watched each game and made sure to stay in touch with his teammates.
“With the symptoms, that was kind of miserable you know?” he said of his quarantine.
Now, he wasn’t all the way back Sunday. Under the careful eye of the Bucks’ medical staff and coaches, he played 18 minutes in their 105-100 victory over the Clippers. But that included the critical, final 1 minute, 57 seconds – a game-defining stretch he thought he was going to miss after he subbed out with 4:01 to go.
“I thought that was it,” Holiday admitted.
Upon his return he contested Paul George at the rim at the 1:35 mark to prevent the Clippers from taking a lead,
Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is defended by Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard on Sunday. Holiday felt “a step slow” in his return to the Bucks after missing 10 games with COVID-19.
and then he helped facilitate Giannis Antetokounmpo’s explosive dunk with 10.3 seconds left that put the Bucks up 103-100.
“I’m happy to have him back, he knows that,” Bucks forward Khris Middleton said. “We give him crap, but the last how many days or weeks or months it seems he’s been out, but the impact that you can see (can) have, he made two winning plays.
“Those type of plays that don’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet all the time but they’re winning play that we need.”
In all, Holiday missed 10 games in which the Bucks went 5-5. There was a five-game losing streak and a fourgame winning streak and they scored 117.6 points and gave up 115.1 points per game.
“I think we kind of learned how valuable he is to our basketball team,” center Bobby Portis said. “The things he does on the floor out there defensively. Offensively, creating his own shot, creating or others, I think we need that on our team.”
Holiday joined other NBA players who have spoken about their experiences in coming back from a COVID-19 absence.
On Jan. 9, Boston’s Jayson Tatum tested positive and entered the league’s health and safety protocol. The all-star missed five games and returned to play Jan. 25 and said Feb. 16 he was still feeling the effects of his bout with COVID-19, especially when it came to his breathing and early fatigue.
Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns tested positive Jan. 15 and returned to play Feb. 10 after missing 13 games. Towns was also honest about his time away with the virus, saying “COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights” and noting working out in a brightly lit facility was an issue.
In other sports, Green Bay Packers running back A.J. Dillon missed five weeks and had practiced and played limited snaps for two weeks before seeing significant playing time. Chicago White Sox infielder Yoán Moncada said he had played through fatigue at least six weeks after being an asymptomatic positive case.
Just as it’s not a coincidence the Bucks lost five straight in his absence, it’s also not a coincidence the vibe of the team noticeably changed when Holiday returned to the locker room, bench and practice facility beginning Sunday. Since then, the Bucks have not lost.
“Obviously for us it’s more about that team camaraderie,” Bucks guard Pat Connaughton said. “It’s different when, knock on wood, a guy gets injured, they’re still around. You still see them. When its COVID, you don’t see them. Not seeing him, not having him around both for his expertise on the court but more or less his good nature and good personality and keeping everybody in a positive mindset was more difficult than anything else I’d say.”