Celtics' dream is coming true with Jordan Walsh based on recent reality

To borrow from the show Seinfeld, the Jordan Walsh glow-up is real, and it's spectacular. The third-year wing has ascended to the Boston Celtics' starting lineup. He has been a first-unit fixture for 12 straight games.

What's most noticeable is the job he is doing stepping into the void for a defensive stopper. Jaylen Brown relished guarding the opposition's best perimeter player. However, given that he's shouldering more of a burden offensively with Jayson Tatum out, he had to pass the baton. Jordan Walsh grabbed it and hasn't looked back.

The former Arkansas Razorback is looking more and more like the defensive menace he was in college. He has a seven-foot-two wingspan, impressive foot speed, and elite lateral mobility. That combination allows him to live in an opponent's jersey, taking away their airspace.

Walsh is also winning with anticipation and his studies in the film room more than ever.

"I think a big part of it is knowing their tendencies, because the way that we play is if you can make them take a shot that we want them to take, then -- and if he makes it, then it's like, 'alright, kudos to him,'" Walsh told Hardwood Houdini after holding Tyrese Maxey to 1/4 shooting in the final frame of the Celtics' 102-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. "Just trying to force him into uncomfortable situations, where he has to play a different style of basketball than he's used to."

Beyond making life difficult for top perimeter assignments like Maxey and James Harden, the 21-year-old from Texas has done the same to post players like Jaren Jackson Jr. and Karl-Anthony Towns.

"I think he's doing a heck of a job defending, voiced Payton Pritchard after Boston's victory vs. the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden went 1/4 with Walsh as his primary defender in that matchup. "We need that. He brings an energy, guarding the best [offensive player] every night, and I think that's his calling card, and he needs to continue it cause he has great potential in that area. And as offensive game grows, but his defensive game, that's what will keep him on the court."

The growth of Jordan Walsh's game offensively

Walsh's maturation is a two-way evolution. At training camp, he told Hardwood Houdini that "role player IQ" is the area in which he has made the most significant strides. It's showing.

The six-foot-six wing is making more plays by crashing and cutting out of the corners. Walsh is improving as a screener. His impact on the offensive glass helped fend off the New York Knicks' fourth-quarter rally in a 123-117 win over Boston's geographical rival. It captured another area where his game is blossoming.

The same is true for his increased feel as a playmaker. For instance, in that victory vs. New York, when the Knicks blitzed Jaylen Brown, he repeatedly found Walsh, who either got the ball to an open shooter or kept the defense in rotation.

He also went from registering a career-high 14 points and his first double-double in a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to generating 22 points on 8/8 shooting against the Washington Wizards two tilts later. He followed that up by putting 17 on the board in a win vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

So, while Walsh's leap defensively is understandably getting the most attention, his evolution is taking place at both ends of the floor.