Boston Celtics
“It’s amazing to see, just him coming out of his shell, being aggressive. He’s learning every day.”
Jordan Walsh AP Photo/Charles Krupa
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The hustle and tenacity that Jordan Walsh showed on the glass during the fourth quarter on Tuesday helped the Celtics knock off one of the tougher opponents in the Eastern Conference.
He didn’t need to post a monster stat line to help finish off the Knicks in a 123-117 win. He chipped in eight points and six rebounds with most of those coming in crunch time as the Celtics clung to a slim lead down the stretch.
“To me, the last six minutes of the game, he was just a great playmaker,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He had the offensive rebounds, he made plays in the seam, he was great at the point of attack defensively.”
Two of his team-high four offensive rebounds led to made baskets in the fourth quarter. He boxed out Jalen Brunson and tipped in a layup with a soft touch. He sprang into position when Jaylen Brown missed a floater that clanged off the side of the rim and finished a tough putback over Jordan Clarkson.
He later froze Karl-Anthony Towns with a shot fake in the corner, leading to an open lane for a layup.
“I’m starting to see Jordan playing like a grown man,” Jaylen Brown said. “It’s amazing to see, just him coming out of his shell, being aggressive. He’s learning every day. I’m loving it.”
Walsh found himself outside of the rotation at the beginning of the season, logging just two minutes during the season opener against the Knicks in October. He didn’t score a point until Nov. 1. But he has seen an uptick in playing time recently with at least 20 minutes in each game since the loss to Brooklyn on Nov. 21.
He logged a season-high 38 minutes in Sunday’s win against the Cavaliers, notching a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double.
With Jayson Tatum out, Walsh is playing an average of 19.9 minutes per game this season, more than twice as much as averaged last year. He has started nine of the Celtics’ 17 games while competing with fellow wings Josh Minott and Hugo Gonzalez for minutes.
The Celtics used Minott as a small-ball five down the stretch on Tuesday, pairing him with Walsh in key moments. With Jaylen Brown (42 points) facing double-teams, they had to show that they could make plays when needed.
Mazzulla said he was impressed with how they handled their reads and spacing against different coverages.
“It was an evolution for both Jordan and Josh,” Mazzulla said. “They went to doubling Jaylen and they did a good job catching the ball in the seams and making two-on-one reads. So, it starts with Jaylen’s ability to trust in his teammates and then it goes to Jordan and Josh’s understanding, being guarded by different matchups throughout the game.”
Walsh didn’t let his lack of playing time at the beginning of the season keep him from staying focused enough to contribute once his name was called.
“Pregame (Tuesday), I was talking with my agent. We sat down last month and were like ‘it’s going to happen.’,” Walsh said. “I was like ‘Yeah, it’s going to happen.’ If you work hard, you get rewarded … coming out and being able to finish the game is obviously a big step for me and I’m super glad I could affect the game.”
The game feels like it’s starting to slow down, said Walsh. He’s still just 21-years-old, having been drafted by the Celtics after one season of college basketball at Arkansas.
Three years into his Celtics career, Walsh appears to be figuring out how to harness his energy in more productive ways.
“I think I’m way more calm. Way more focused. It has obviously slowed down a lot for me since my rookie year. I was a mess rookie year. I was running around, so I’ve definitely come a long way.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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