The New Orleans Pelicans have struggled to stay above .500 this season. They are vying for a playoff berth to follow-up a 34-win season and 11th-place finish in the competitive Western Conference, but have yet to win more than two consecutive games through the first half of the season.

Anthony Davis is of course the Pelicans’ best player, leading the NBA in PER (31.2) by more than three points over Russell Westbrook, who ranks second in the category. As Davis, 21, continues to mature into both his body and superstardom, Jrue Holiday has been the glue that holds New Orleans together.

Holiday, just 24 himself, leads a supporting cast around Davis that is littered with players in their mid-20s -- Ryan Anderson, Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon. Anderson is introverted, while Evans and Gordon have yet to log a playoff minute in their careers. Holiday, meanwhile, averaged 38 minutes over 13 games for the Philadelphia 76ers as they pushed their second-round series against Boston Celtics to seven games in 2012.

He led the team in scoring, assists and steals as the eighth-seeded 76ers -- who edged the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls in the first round -- nearly made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Holiday credits his time in Philadelphia, where he spent his first four professional seasons, for helping ready himself for his role with the Pelicans.

“I think I grew up a lot. I went from being 18, 19 to an All-Star in the league. It took a while. We went to the playoffs twice in four years and I had a very good experience there,” Holiday told RealGM. “Philly is a great city to play in. When you are rolling, actually even when you are just playing hard, the city comes behind you and gives you an extra boost. To be able to play there and start off there was awesome for me.”

Sam Hinkie kicked off Philadelphia’s controversial tanking strategy by trading Holiday to the Pelicans for the draft rights to Nerlens Noel and a future first round pick on the night of the 2013 draft.

Holiday heard about the rumors from family and friends before receiving a phone call from Hinkie that he had been dealt. Since Holiday was traded, the 76ers have completely remade their roster. Only Jason Richardson remains from Holiday’s final year with the club and injuries have kept him from taking the floor since the end of the 2013 season.

As much as Holiday appreciated his time with the 76ers and is aware of the role he played in Hinkie’s plan to rebuild the once-storied franchise, he is focused on giving his all to the Pelicans.

“I’m part of a different franchise now, so I’m just worrying about what we are doing,” he said. “We are trying to make the playoffs and it’s completely different in the Western Conference. You have to have a winning record just to be in the conversation for a playoff spot.”

It is far from a surprise that Holiday has been able to carve out a respectable career in just five-plus seasons.

Shaun and Toya Holiday have four kids and all of them play basketball. Justin, 25, plays for the Golden State Warriors. Lauren, 21, played for UCLA before retiring due to medical reasons and the youngest, Aaron, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Bruins beginning this fall.

“We are a pretty athletic family,” Holiday said with a smile. “My parents went to Arizona State and played too.”

Holiday spent one year at UCLA and entered the 2009 NBA Draft, during which the 76ers took him with the seventeenth overall pick. His decision to leave school early surprised some after his freshmen season ended somewhat disappointingly.

“It was a really cool experience. I got to experience college, the college atmosphere and March Madness, which was crazy,” he said. “Obviously, that’s one of the biggest things in basketball. The three years before my season we went to the Final Four. The one year I was there it was fun to be a part of it.”

Holiday played with future NBA players Drew Gordon, Malcolm Lee and Darren Collison, who was drafted four picks after Holiday in 2009 by New Orleans (then the Hornets)

“I learned a little bit from Collison, but the situation was a little different because I played more as a three,” said Holiday, who admitted that his time under Ben Howland provided a different basketball experience.

“I’ve pretty much had the ball in my hands my whole life,” Holiday said. “That was probably the only year of my career that I didn’t have the ball.”

Despite playing out of his natural position while at UCLA, it didn’t take long for Holiday to become an effective lead guard in the NBA. He was forced into a starting role as a rookie when Lou Williams went down with an injury and kept the job not long after Williams returned.

In his second season he averaged 14 points, 6.5 assists, four rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35.4 minutes per game while shooting 44.6%. He has since developed into one of the league’s better guards at initiating the pick-and-roll and is a very good on-ball defender.

“He brings defense, leadership and he gets us into our stuff,” Monty Williams said of Holiday.

He may not receive much national attention, but Holiday is one of just ten players averaging at least 15 points, seven assists and three rebounds. He’s in good company on that list, sharing it with Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, John Wall and Russell Westbrook.

In addition to trying to live up to his No. 2 billing coming out of high school and enjoying the college experience, Holiday’s life was forever changed by his time at UCLA in another significant way. While they didn’t start dating until after he left school, Holiday met his wife, Lauren, on campus.

“There is a place called The Wooden, which is like the recreation place on campus,” he said. “She used to play basketball there, so I’d go and play and she’d be in there. We actually didn’t start dating until I left school.”

Lauren Holiday, 27, plays soccer for FC Kansas City and is a member of the United States national team.

“She got me into soccer. It took me two years to really get into it,” Holiday said. “I hadn’t watched it before, but I played it growing up like most kids. Watching it is completely different. I’ve learned most of the rules now and it’s been a cool experience. I didn’t know how big it was in the world. It brings countries and people together.”

With Lauren a member of the U.S. squad, Jrue was able to follow her at the 2011 World Cup in Germany and the 2012 Olympics in London. Sports obviously dominate the Holiday household, but when enjoying downtime the couple rarely tunes into games of any kind.

“If she wants to watch soccer then we’ll watch it, but for the most part we just watch movies or something on TV,” he said. “We relate because we are both professional athletes. We are always out on the road and have crazy schedules. When we’re together, it’s pretty normal.”

All and all, Holiday is pretty normal. He quickly defaults to team goals when discussing his own play. His importance on the floor for the Pelicans became evident when they struggled in the second half of a Jan. 12 loss in Boston. He left that game with an ankle injury and has missed the team’s last two contests. 

An All-Star in 2013, Holiday isn’t concentrated on a return appearance. The Pelicans hope to battle for one of the final few playoff spots in the West and are in the mist of their longest road trip of the season, which Williams has dubbed the “separation trip.” They have played 22 games on the road, against just 17 at home and their remaining opponents have a .496 winning percentage -- only the Lakers have an easier schedule in the West.

“There are still some things that we want to get done, which includes putting a decent winning streak together,” Holiday said. “We haven’t really had one yet. It’s just been win, loss, win, loss. We want to put a good run together.”