CHARLOTTE — With the Celtics leading the Hornets by just a single point — with 8 minutes left to play in the game — Joe Mazzulla turned to the bench and called for Jordan Walsh to check in.
The 20-year-old was ready to go.
Sending Walsh into the game in critical moments has become a regular occurrence. Walsh, who spent nearly all of last season in Maine and struggled enormously in Summer League, has quickly established himself as a regular member of the Celtics bench rotation.
“He’s done a really good job,” said fellow backup wing Sam Hauser, who’s missed three games due to a a lingering back injury. “He’s gotten a lot better since last year.”
The regular season has just begun, but it already appears that Walsh has left his summer struggles far in the past. In the wake of Hauser’s limited minutes, Walsh’s playing time has become even more important — so far this season, the 2023 No. 38 draft pick has averaged 8.6 minutes per game, playing double-digit minutes multiple times.
In Friday’s 124-109 win over the Hornets, Walsh hit two of three attempts from beyond the arc, finishing with a +/- rating of +6 in 6 minutes of action. Both three-pointers, which helped extend the Celtics lead to 15, came within two minutes of him checking into the ball game for the first time all night.
But how did Walsh go from being seemingly overwhelmed in Las Vegas to stringing together key stops on Giannis Antetokounmpo and hitting big-time three-pointers in NBA road games?
In an exclusive interview with CelticsBlog, Walsh said even he didn’t see a consistent role in Boston coming this fast.
“I didn’t expect it to happen this early,” Walsh said. “Obviously, it’s still early in the season, so I could end up in Maine at some point — but I definitely didn’t expect it.”
Walsh’s on-court contributions won’t jump off the stat sheet; at the end of the day, he’s averaging 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game. But, the numbers don’t tell the full story, nor do they reflect just how much he’s impressed his Celtics teammates and coaches in the season’s early days.
“The way he’s been playing has been great — whenever his number’s been called, he’s done an amazing job,” Jrue Holiday said Friday at Celtics shootaround. “It’s not so much about the scoring — it’s more about how he’s impacted the game.”
How Walsh made the unlikely jump into the Celtics rotation
Viewers at home might be perplexed about how the same guy who was often lost on both ends of the floor in July has broken through to get real minutes on what’s probably the most talented roster in the NBA.
Walsh told CelticsBlog that the noticeable improvement is a combination of two factors: he’s both bettered his actual basketball skills, and changed his mental outlook.
“I can get better over a couple months,” Walsh said. “But, I feel like the bigger part was the mental aspect. I feel like going into this year, and knowing what to expect, knowing what the role is was the most important part, that made the biggest change.”
The key for Walsh has been to internalize the scope of his responsibilities and their limitations: he doesn’t need to take 10 shots per game, nor does he need to have the ball in his hands for the majority of possessions.
“He just understands that he needs to go and play hard, play defense, rebound,” Hauser said. “With our team, sometimes you just have to fit in where you get in. He’s done a good job of that so far.”
Recognizing the extent of his responsibilities — and what he has to do to continue staying impactful — has made the pathway to consistent minutes a lot more straightforward.
“I have one of the easier jobs on the team — I just come in, play as hard as I can, rebound, play defense, and then try to make shots,” Walsh said. “That’s what’s expected of me, and that’s the easy part, I guess. I’m not expected to go out and score 30 like JT and them. So, I just go out, rebound as hard as I can, play defense as hard as I can, try to make an impact that way.”
Jordan Walsh is studying Jrue Holiday film to improve as a defender
Walsh has known from the beginning that defense was what was going to put him in games, and ultimately keep him on the floor. Lucky for him, one of the best perimeter defenders in the world is on his team: Jrue Holiday, a two-time All-Star who has been a critical part of two Olympic gold medals and two NBA championships.
Nearly every time Walsh is asked about how he’s working to improve his game, be brings up Holiday.
“I’ve been studying him a lot more, just asking my coaches for film of him playing defense and just his minutes, and how he impacts the game,” Walsh said. “Because I feel like we’re in a similar role.”
Becoming a Jrue Holiday-esque player is the ultimate goal, and while turning into a six-time All-Defensive Team guard is a lofty standard, it’s all about the end game.
“Where I want to get at is where he is right now,” Walsh said. “So, trying to adopt his tendency, stuff like that, that I feel like can make a difference for me — maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but in the long stride of my career.”
A big part of watching Jrue Holiday film has been keying in on how the six-time All-Defensive Team guard understands each opponents’ unique habits, and guards each player accordingly.
“He just knows the person [he’s guarding],” Walsh said. “He knows how to guard everybody, and he just plays super hard.”
Joe Mazzulla was asked on Saturday about his confidence in Jordan Walsh.
“Let’s put it this way,” Mazzulla said postgame. “If they’re on the floor, I believe in them.”
Asked Joe Mazzulla about the confidence that he has in guys like Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh playing fourth quarter mins in a close game:
“Let’s put it this way. If they’re on the floor, I believe in them.” pic.twitter.com/xYcHq5MIuI
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) November 2, 2024
Still, Walsh is often reminded of his relative youth on a veteran Celtics squad
In Monday’s win over the Bucks — in which Walsh played a season-high 13 minutes — his assignment involved helping to defend Antetokounmpo and keeping Brook Lopez off the glass.
He excelled, getting multiple stops and loose balls, and fending off several prospective rebounders. The performance drew praise from Jaylen Brown.
“I thought Jordan played great,” Brown said Monday. “His minutes was exceptional for our team.”
Walsh reflected on the earliest moments of Monday’s game.
“Giannis came by during layup lines, and when I walked to half court, and saw how much bigger than me he was, I was like ‘oh, snap,’” Walsh said with a smile. “But then once the game got started, I was in kill mode. I was just thinking, ‘I don’t care who it is, like, let me get over here and try and guard them the best I can, try to shut them down.’ So, that’s what I tried to do.”
For now, Walsh is a full-time member of the Boston Celtics. He still keeps in close touch with his former Maine Celtics teammates, especially two-way players JD Davison and Drew Peterson, who were with the Celtics for training camp but went up to Maine this week (though Davison re-joined the Celtics in Charlotte). Walsh know that there’s still a possibility he’ll end up in Portland at some point, too.
In the meantime, he’s helped prepare this year’s top Celtics draft pick, Baylor Scheierman, in the event that he’s sent to the G-League for some time. Walsh said that Scheierman has been receptive to his advice.
But, his youth creates an interesting dynamic. Both Scheierman and Peterson are 24 years old — four years Walsh’s elder. Even Davison, who’s beginning his third consecutive season as a Celtics two-way player, is 22.
So, Walsh walks a fine line. He’s called Scheierman “rook” a couple of times, but joked that wouldn’t fly with Davison.
“They are all older than me, they’re all more experienced than me,” he said. “So I try to give them a little bit, but not too much, because at the end of the day, they’re kind of more of — more or not — my vets, almost.”
Jordan Walsh doesn’t know what lies ahead this season, and he’s open to any possibility. But he’s going to work as hard as he possibility can to continue earning the opportunity to stay with the parent club:
“I am going to do whatever it takes to stay here and stick.”
