The first two seasons of Jordan Walsh’s career were relatively forgettable from a, individual standpoint (at least he got a ring his rookie year).
In the 61 games he appeared in, Walsh averaged 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds while only playing 8 minutes per game. He shot 37% from the field and 27% on threes.
There was never a point it looked like Walsh could be a regular rotation player, not during his regular season action, preseason action or even Summer League action. You would be hard pressed to find people who still believed in Walsh and it would have been even harder to find someone who had a good reason to still believe — not just blind faith.
Over the first five games of this season, that seemed to remain the case as Walsh played just 5 minutes and 18 seconds, appearing in just three games.
But sometimes, blind faith pays off.
After a good showing in the Celtics loss in Philadelphia on November 11th, Joe Mazzulla inserted Walsh into the starting lineup as he looked for someone to play the 4 with Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta.
Ever since that point, Walsh has taken 0ff like a rocket ship and it has broken my brain.
Since being inserted into the starting 5 on November 12th against the Grizzlies, Walsh has averaged 9.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. The Celtics, meanwhile, are tied for 2nd in the NBA at 10 wins, have the 3rd best net rating in the NBA at +10.2 points per 100 possessions, and have the best offense in the NBA, scoring 126.8 points per 100 possessions.
It is his three-point shooting that has made me the most excited. He is 19/39 from three on the season, 49%. That won’t hold up — not even the best shooters in NBA history shoot 50% from three — but if he can be in the high 30’s or even the low 40’s.
He is scoring at a really high level now. In the Celtics November 30th win over the Cavaliers, Walsh scored a career-high 14 points and in the five games since that one, he has beaten that three times. Over the last six games, he is averaging 15 points per game, shooting 77% with an effective field goal percentage of 89%.
He also creates a lot of 2nd chance points for the Celtics as well. He has 37 offensive rebounds this season which is tied for third on the team with Josh Minott behind Luka Garza and Neemias Queta.
Those extra possessions are something the Joe Mazzulla talks a lot about and something that the Celtics need because they do have a tendency to give up offensive rebounds on the other end, even if they have improved in that regard since the start of the season.
His defense was what everyone talked about when he was drafted in 2023 and that has not gone away during this stretch.
Each night he takes the top assignment of the other team, allowing Jaylen Brown and Derrick White to focus more on offense. Walsh is giving up 39% to shooters when he is the nearest defender and how he navigates screens is also a joy.
According to Cleaning the Glass, Walsh is in the 94th percentile in blocks for wings, 91st percentile in steals and the 98th percentile in offensive rebounding. He is doing all the little things for this Celtics team, creating extra possessions for Boston on both sides of the court.
This leap from Jordan Walsh seems to be real. I just cannot understand how the player I have watched the past two seasons and the past three summers is now one of the most impactful and important players on the team.
It has been so beautiful to watch.
