There won’t be 17,000-plus fans bellowing “Jruuuuuue!” when his name is announced in Milwaukee’s starting lineup Friday, but the return of Jrue Holiday to New Orleans as a visiting player is coinciding with a jump in maximum capacity in the Smoothie King Center. After the previous six New Orleans home games were capped at 750 fans, starting with tonight’s game against the Bucks, that number has nearly doubled, to 1,440.
It obviously hasn’t had the same impact as a full house, but the presence of the 750 fans has been noticeable at times early in 2020-21, including after the final buzzer.