After being out for three months, Jrue Holiday, with his family's blessing, will finally make his season debut on Friday when the New Orleans Pelicans take on the Portland Trail Blazers. It's a welcome respite for the struggling Pelicans with a 2-10 record to start the season.
Jrue Holiday has spent the last few months caring for his then pregnant wife, US Women's Soccer star Lauren Cheney, 29, who was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. The good news was the tumor was operable and poses no threat to their unborn daughter. However, the brain surgery has to wait until after Lauren Cheney gave birth, thus forcing Jrue Holiday to miss the start of the season. Doctors said that after surgery she will make a full recovery.
After his first practice with the team on Thursday, Jrue Holiday said he was excited to play in his first game this season. But he was more thrilled that his wife's recovery is going along very well that they both felt comfortable for him to return. Asked why he's returning, Jrue Holiday said, "Because my wife said I could. It was really just to see where my wife was in her recovery. And since she's doing so well, and since my daughter's getting bigger, and since my family and her family are there to help her out with anything ... I just feel comfortable being back and being able to leave them, if it's on a road trip or whatever it is."
He also added, "As hard as it is, again, I'm really excited."
You can't really blame Jrue Holiday, 26, for being this excited to play. His season was cut short last year after suffering an orbital wall fracture on his right eye. On top of that, his first three seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans since being dealt from the Philadelphia 76ers didn't go very well either. A series of leg complications forced him to miss 48, 42 and 17 games respectively in his first three seasons with the franchise.
Now that Jrue Holiday's finally back and in full strength, everyone in New Orleans are hoping that he could quickly get back into game shape. With a dismal record and a stretch of 6 games in 10 days, the New Orleans Pelicans need all the help they can get.
