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Often, the most important lessons are the toughest to take. Just ask Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner.
Holiday and Turner, the Sixers’ youthful backcourt teammates and future leaders of the 76ers, received an up close and personal education on big-time basketball Saturday night in Game 7 at the Garden. It was there, during the Sixers’ season-ending, 10-point loss to the Celtics, where the young guards watched as Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen took them to school.
No, the Celtics’ veterans didn’t embarrass the Sixers with an array of highlight-reel buckets or anything like that. Instead it was a lesson of perseverance, more surgical than anything. Better yet, the young Sixers guards got to see how superstars act when it’s all on the line.
And don’t think for a minute that they didn’t pick up on it.
Rondo seemed to make the biggest impression on Holiday. Still just 21-years old and playing in his third NBA season, Holiday talked about wanting to develop into an All-Star or Olympian as his career progresses. In fact, during training camp last December, Holiday said he was planning on attending the Olympics in London this July where he hopes to get swept up in the excitement. Perhaps watching the Olympics in person could help spark the motivation to become an Olympian in 2016.
— Reported by John Finger of CSN Philly
