https://youtu.be/yQEz0vHWOXY
I have always been on the Richaun Holmes hype train. ALWAYS. Don’t believe me? Here’s a selection of quotes about Holmes from yours truly, arranged in chronological order:
“Anyone else getting a serious Giannis Antetokounmpo vibe from this dude named Richaun Holmes?”
“Fact: Richaun Holmes provides 50% of the funness that Joel Embiid did at a fraction of the injury risk.”
“I am really trying hard to find some justification for not straight-up anointing Richaun Holmes as the Kings best player right now.”
“He is the Kings best player. No sarcasm. No hyperbole. He just is.”
“In that case, MVP chants are perfectly legitimate and are even expected. Because Holmes is the most valuable player on the Kings.”
If you go to my website (kindly linked down below) and check out the Richaun Holmes tag, you will see that there is more where that came from. Just a quick glance at all the stuff I’ve written for him seems to show that I have never once said anything even slightly negative about him, unless you count stuff like “he can’t really create his own offense”. Otherwise, it’s just praise. Normally I’m a little harder on role-players of his caliber, but there’s just something about him that is incredibly endearing. I think it’s the midrange jumper/floater thing that he kills teams with regularly.
How are you even supposed to stop a shot like that? No one expects a rolling big to just stop 12 feet from the basket and shoot a push shot. I’m thinking a pushshot-ilation is happening for Holmes this season. Maybe. If I even do -ilations this season, it’ll be first on the list.
This might be the best game of Holmes’ career, all told. Only 7 buckets, not a gigantic amount, but he affected the game in all areas against a Celtics team that is, at least theoretically, way better than the Kings. He made his shots. He made a three (banked it, but who cares), something he flashed a bit of in Philly and something he should continue flashing as the Kings wander through another depressing season. He hit Harrison Barnes for some easy buckets, further validating my Giannis comparisons from 2016. And then there’s the defense. Some clutch blocks to put the Celtics away put the home commentators in a state of stunned disbelief. What are they supposed to say when they just watched their team get dismantled by Richaun Holmes?