Jordan Walsh has arrived — and he's impacting the Celtics sooner than he expected

CHARLOTTE – With the Celtics leading the Hornets by just a single point with eight minutes to play, 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 at critical moments has now become the norm. Walsh, who spent almost all of last season in Maine and struggled mightily in Summer League, has quickly established himself as a regular member of the Celtics' bench.

“He did a really good job,” said backup Sam Hauser, who missed three games with a lingering back injury. “He’s gotten a lot better since last year.”

The regular season has only just begun, but it already appears that Walsh has put his summer woes far behind him. With 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 and played double-digit minutes multiple times.

In Friday's 124-109 win over the Hornets, Walsh hit two of three attempts from long range and posted a +/- rating of +6 in 6 minutes of play. Both three-pointers that helped extend the Celtics' lead to 15 came within two minutes of entering the game for the first time of the night.

But how did Walsh manage to go from seemingly overwhelmed in Las Vegas to putting together key shots against Giannis Antetokounmpo and hitting big three-pointers in NBA away games?

In an exclusive interview with CelticsBlog, Walsh even said He I didn't think there would be a consistent role in Boston so quickly.

“I didn’t expect it to happen so soon,” 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 that.”

Walsh's contributions on the field won't shine through the stats; At the end of the day, he averages 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game. However, the numbers don't tell the whole story or reflect how much he impressed his Celtics teammates and coaches in the early days of the season.

“The way he played was great — whenever his number was called, he did a great job,” Jrue Holiday said at the Celtics’ shootaround Friday. “It’s not so much about the goal, but more about how he influenced the game.”

How Walsh made the unlikely jump into the Celtics' rotation

Those watching at home may be amazed at how the same guy who was often lost on both ends of the floor in July has broken through to earn real minutes on perhaps the NBA's most talented roster.

Walsh told CelticsBlog that the noticeable improvement was a combination of two factors: he both improved his actual basketball skills, And changed his mental attitude.

“I may “It will get better in a few months,” Walsh said. “But I feel like the bigger part was the mental aspect. I feel like going into this year knowing what to expect, knowing what the role is, that was the most important part that made the biggest change.”

The key for Walsh is to internalize the scope of his responsibility and its limits: He doesn't have to take 10 shots per game, nor does he have to have the ball in his hands for most possessions.

“He just understands that he has to play hard, defend and rebound,” Hauser said. “With our team, sometimes you just have to fit in where you come in. He’s done well so far.”

Recognizing the extent of his responsibility – and what he must do to remain effective – has made the path to consistent protocols much easier.

“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 I guess that’s the easy part. I'm not expected to go out and score 30 points like JT and them. So I just go out there, rebound as hard as I can, play defense as hard as I can and try to make an impact that way.”

Jordan Walsh is studying the film “Jrue Holiday” to improve as a defender

Walsh knew from the start that it was the defense that would get him into games and ultimately keep him on the floor. Luckily for him, his team includes one of the best fullbacks in the world: Jrue Holiday, a two-time All-Star who was instrumental in two Olympic gold medals and two NBA championships.

Almost every time Walsh is asked how he is working to improve his game, he brings up Holiday.

“I watched him a lot more and just asked my coaches for film of him playing defense, just his minutes and how he impacts the game,” Walsh said. “Because I feel like we’re in a similar role.”

The ultimate goal is to become a Jrue Holiday-style player, and while becoming a six-time All-Defensive Team guard is a tall order, it all comes down to the end game.

“I want to get to where he is right now,” Walsh said. “Trying to adopt his tendency, things like that that I feel can make a difference for me — maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but over the course of my career.”

Watching the Jrue Holiday film, the main focus was on how the six-time All-Defensive Team guard understands the unique habits of each opponent and protects each player accordingly.

“He just knows the person (he’s guarding),” Walsh said. “He knows how to protect everyone and he just plays super hard.”

Joe Mazzulla was asked about his confidence in Jordan Walsh on Saturday.

“Let’s put it this way,” Mazzulla said after the game. “When they’re on the floor, I believe in them.”

Still, Walsh is often reminded of his relative youth on an experienced Celtics team

In Monday's win over the Bucks – in which Walsh played a season-best 13 minutes – his job was to defend Antetokounmpo and keep Brook Lopez off the field.

He was outstanding, making multiple stops and loose balls and fending off several would-be rebounders. The performance was praised by Jaylen Brown.

“I thought Jordan played great,” Brown said Monday. “His minutes were exceptional for our team.”

Walsh reflected on the opening moments of Monday's game.

“Giannis came by during the layup lines, and when I walked to halfcourt and saw how much taller he was than me, I said, 'Oh, snap,'” Walsh said with a smile. “But once the game started, I was in kill mode. I just thought, “I don’t care who it is. Let me come over here and try to protect them as best I can and take them out.’ So that’s what I tried to do.”

Currently, Walsh is a full-time member of the Boston Celtics. He still keeps in close contact with his former Maine Celtics teammates, particularly two-way players JD Davison and Drew Peterson, who were with the Celtics in training camp but headed to Maine this week (though Davison rejoined the in Charlotte Celtics changed). . Walsh knows there's a chance he, too, could end up in Portland at some point.

In the meantime, he helped prepare this year's Celtics' top draft pick, Baylor Scheierman, in case he was sent to the G-League for some time. Walsh said Scheierman was receptive to his advice.

But his youth creates an interesting dynamic. Both Scheierman and Peterson are 24 years old – four years older than Walsh. Even Davison, entering his third straight season as the Celtics' two-way player, is 22.

So Walsh is walking a fine line. He's called Scheierman “rook” a few times, but joked that it wouldn't sit well with Davison.

“They’re 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 – more or not – my vets, almost.”

Jordan Walsh doesn't know what to expect this season and is open to every possibility. But he will work as hard as possible to continue to earn the chance to stay at the parent club:

“I will do anything to stay here and stay.”