Joe Mazzulla had unique praise for Lonnie Walker IV after big game

BOSTON — After a somewhat shaky two-game stint in Abu Dhabi, Lonnie Walker IV found his footing stateside. The Boston Celtics returned home to TD Garden on Friday night after two preseason games against the Denver Nuggets in the Middle East. They earned a 139-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, and Walker looked sharp.

A relatively cold start was quickly masked by a stat-stuffing performance that gave fans what they’ve been wanting since he signed with the team late in free agency. Walker finished the contest with nine points, four rebounds, seven assists, and two steals against the Sixers. He shot 4-of-7 from the floor and 1-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Walker’s performance was enough to catch the eyes of head coach Joe Mazzulla. But his stats weren’t the first thing Mazzulla noticed.

Lonnie Walker IV did all the little things

After the game, Mazzulla had high praise for the Celtics guard. Rather than complimenting his scoring or playmaking, Mazzulla was uniquely impressed by some small plays that may have gone unnoticed to the untrained eye.

“I think he's been really good,” Mazzulla said. “I think it's an adjustment coming here. It's a different style of basketball. I like his open-mindedness to learning. I like his patience. 

“And I saw him make– It's funny, when you get a guy like him who's been in the league for seven years, I saw some things today that he might not think are important, or that other people [won't see], but like, they're really, really important things defensively and offensively. Whether it was his positioning, or whether it was a small cut that he made or a read that he made. 

Those are the types of things that will keep him in Mazzulla’s good graces, and it sounds as though Walker will have another shot at proving himself in Boston’s game against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

“Those things go a long way because they open up opportunities,” Mazzulla said. “And it may be things that have been taken for granted, but he was efficient, 4-for-7, and some of the stuff that doesn't show up on the stat [sheet], he picked up on. And it was great to see that. He's enjoying just kind of working hard, and he'll get another crack at it again tomorrow.”

Walker probably won’t end up making Boston’s 15-man roster heading into the season, but for now, he’s doing what he can to show out in Celtics green.