Holiday happy to be face of Philly franchise

“Somebody kind of had to step up to the plate,” said Philadelphia 76er guard, Jrue Holiday, talking about his role on the Sixers squad during a conference call with British media earlier this week.

In a year that Philly fans won’t soon forgive or forget, the club suffered through a disappointing 34-48 season that saw them miss theplay-offs and have to cope with the uncertainty of Andrew Bynum’s injury status and deal with the predictable realisation that 1973 Philadelphia number one pick, Doug Collins, was no longer having a positive effect on his team as head coach. But even though the negatives far outweighed the positives, there was one reason for hope – the growth of guard Jrue Holiday who averaged career highs of 17.7ppg and 8apg (fourth best in the league) in just over 37 minutes per night.

Holiday’s career year was recognised by both fans (103,146 fan All-Star game votes) and by coaches, who selected Holiday onto the Eastern All Star game squad – his first ever inclusion. His determined play and unwavering leadership during a difficult campaign elevated him to the status of ‘star’ in Sixer-town and now means that while the confused franchise sets about changing its identity under new GM Sam Hinkie, Holiday is in possession of the keys to the ball club.

“I think it’s fine,” said Holiday when discussing his position as ‘face of the franchise’. “There’s a lot of pressure that comes with it, a lot of decisions that people kind of rely on you to do. I think last year was definitely a start.

“I know, because I am young, it was a little nervous for me going in and making big decisions…There is a little bit of pressure that comes with that.”

Holiday may feel pressure in his role as franchise leader but he certainly isn’t showing any effects of it. In fact, his ability to deflect the spotlight thrust upon him and focus on his game is a quality he admires, respects and shares with fellow point guard, Russell Westbrook, whom Holiday is due to meet in Manchester on the 8th October when the two clubs meet as part of their 2013/14 pre-season warm-up schedule.

The OKC Thunder point guard has spent the last two seasons under intense scrutiny from the media for his perceived selfishness and belief that he takes shots away from elite scorer team-mate, Kevin Durant, although with the Thunder’s swift exit from the play-offs following Westbrook’s season-ending meniscus tear of the right knee suffered in game two of their first round play-off clash with the Houston Rockets, the view that Westbrook is a hindrance, is softening.

Not that Holiday thinks Westbrook cares.

“He can handle all the scrutiny that he’s been getting. He’s a tough player,” Holiday said, referring to Westbrook’s refusal to change his game despite constant calls from media and fans alike to do so.

“Obviously he’s from UCLA so he’s one of the toughest.”

“I guess I felt like if Russell was playing, I’d have put them in the championship game automatically.”

With both Holiday and Westbrook missing out on the play-offs for different reasons, UK-based fans are in for a treat when the pair go head-to-head in October, with both players and their respective teams having a chip on their shoulder and sufficient motivation to prove their worth heading into the 2013/14 season.

Jrue Holiday’s Philadelphia 76ers will be playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Manchester on Tuesday, October 8th, 2013. Make sure you beat the queue for tickets by signing up for NBA All-Access at www.nba.com/allaccess/