Bucks PG Jrue Holiday ruled out Monday vs. Pacers [UPDATE]

Update, Oct. 25 — Jrue Holiday has been ruled out for Monday’s game vs. the Indiana Pacers. Holiday has been dealing with an ankle injury and was held out of the second game of the season against the Miami Heat. He returned to action over the weekend against the Spurs, scoring 16 points in 15 minutes.

Now, he’s being held out again. So we may see the Bucks rest players early and often this season, which could impact their win total and seeding later on in the season. Brook Lopez is also being held out again Monday after missing the game vs. the Heat and Spurs.

Update, Oct. 22 — Holiday is being listed as probable to play in Saturday’s game vs. the San Antonio Spurs. He missed Thursday’s blowout loss to the Heat along with C Brook Lopez. Holiday appears OK and should be ready to get back into the lineup, which will be a huge boost for Milwaukee.

Update, Oct. 21 — Holiday has been ruled out for Thursday night’s game vs. the Miami Heat. The Bucks say Holiday is dealing with a heel and thigh injury and won’t be able to play. Holiday’s MRI came back clean on the heel on Tuesday night, so this doesn’t appear to be anything serious. Still, the Bucks need to be cautious with Holiday this early in the season.

As far as the impact on Thursday’s game, we should see George Hill, Pat Connaughton or even Jordan Nwora replace Holiday in the starting lineup. Nwora and Connaughton played well off the bench against the Nets. Hill is really the only other pure PG on the roster outside Holiday.

Update: According to Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, Holiday’s MRI on his heel contusion came back clean. That can only mean good things for the point guard, who is a strong two-way presence for the Bucks.

The Milwaukee Bucks will be without PG Jrue Holiday for the rest of the season opener against the Brooklyn Nets, after Holiday suffered a right heel contusion. The Bucks have officially ruled him out for the rest of the game.

Holiday was having a major impact offensively, scoring 12 points on 5-7 shooting. He even hit a few key three-pointers early in the game to help the Bucks break out for an early 31-12 lead. Milwaukee is up 66-59 at the half after a late rally from the Nets.

With Holiday sidelined, expect more of Pat Connaughton and Jordan Nwora in the backcourt. Giannis Antetokounmpo is likely to take over a lot of the ball-handling duties. Unfortunately for the Bucks, Holiday’s defensive presence will be harder to match.

The Bucks closed as 1.5-point favorites at opening tip, and are now 5.5-point favorites at the half. Milwaukee is -255 on the moneyline, while Brooklyn in +190. The over/under is up to 239.5 after closing at 234.