Grizzlies unlocked new way to beat Celtics, but the Celtics loved it

On Saturday night, the Memphis Grizzlies took down the Boston Celtics, earning a 127-121 victory at TD Garden. It snapped a three-game losing streak for Boston and handed them their fifth loss of the year. They played a very physical brand of basketball, but one portion of their game plan stood out among the rest.

From the very start of the game, the Grizzlies decided to leave Jrue Holiday open behind the three-point line. Holiday, who was one of the most effective three-point shooters in the league last year, struggled all night long, and Boston’s offense never found a real rhythm.

Memphis’ plan was a success, but the Celtics loved it.

Celtics hope more teams leave Jrue Holiday open

After the game, Jaylen Brown said that he hopes more teams try to beat the Celtics that way, as the team has the utmost confidence in Holiday’s abilities as a shooter and a scorer.

“Yeah, probably,” Brown said when asked if more teams would try to guard them in unique ways. “Teams will probably try, and I hope so. We got full belief in Jrue. Tonight, maybe he didn't shoot the ball as [well] as he liked, but we got full belief in and Jrue and any of those guys, and we want to encourage it. So yeah, we'll be ready if teams do decide that.”

By the end of the game, Holiday had 23 points, four rebounds, and three assists. However, he shot 8-of-26 from the field and 4-of-17 from beyond the three-point arc.

It was a brutal night for Holiday from an efficiency standpoint, but he didn’t play the wrong way. He took his shots in the flow of the offense—they just didn’t fall.

Holiday has struggled from beyond the arc this year, but he has the track record of a top-notch shooter. The reason Boston’s offense is so effective is because they have scoring threats and playmakers up and down the roster. Holiday is no exception.

But every once in a while, bad shooting nights happen, and Holiday is not built to be a primary scorer. It’s part of the reason the Milwaukee Bucks swapped him out for Damian Lillard (a move that doesn’t look too great in hindsight).

Despite all of that, Brown and the rest of the Celtics are more than comfortable letting Holiday take the shots defenses give him, as they have faith his scoring will return to form.

And based on his career history, that’s a pretty good bet.