The Boston Celtics are on a roll, as their 123-117 victory over the New York Knicks was their seventh win in their past nine games. Jaylen Brown’s 42 points drew the most attention among fans, but if you ask head coach Joe Mazzulla, there was one player who made a big impact that helped seal the win for the C’s.
That player would be Jordan Walsh, who has continued to excel in an expanded role for Boston. While he only played 19 minutes in this game, Walsh was on the floor during crunch time, and he continually made Mazzulla look like a genius for turning to him with the game on the line.
Walsh finished the game with eight points, six rebounds and one assist, and the majority of that production came in the fourth quarter. Walsh was everywhere for the Celtics late in this one, as he hit a pair of clutch layups, hauled in three offensive rebounds and nabbed a steal on defense. That solid burst earned Walsh a shoutout from Mazzulla after the game.
“To me, the last six minutes of the game, he was just a great playmaker,” Mazzulla said of Walsh. “He had the offensive rebounds and made plays in the seam. He was great at the point of attack defensively.”
Generally speaking, the C’s know what they are going to get from guys like Brown and Derrick White on a nightly basis. If role players like Walsh can continue to step up and make a big impact when they are on the court, though, that raises Boston’s ceiling significantly.
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We have seen that time and again during their recent stretch of winning, and with the Celtics only just beginning to figure out how they work best as a team, it feels like the sky’s the limit. Boston will look to earn another win on Thursday night when it squares off against the Washington Wizards.
