Jordan Walsh showed last year that even if he's limited in what he can do, he certainly wasn't a waste of a roster spot. He factored into why the Boston Celtics survived as well as they did without Jayson Tatum. He played well enough to get an extension with the team. Even so, it definitely shocked everyone to see him get the starting nod.
Boston has better players they have chosen to have come off the bench, but there is a clear-as-day reason why Walsh got the job: his individual defense. For everything Walsh isn't, his athleticism and frame make him hard to score on. In fact, many wondered why the Celtics weren't playing him more in their first-round matchup against Philadelphia.
So, yes, it is understandable why Boston started Walsh, but that doesn't mean it's not complicated. Let's start with the good, which, of course, starts with his defense. They aren't just starting him because of what he brings on that end, but because his assignment has been on their opponent's best offensive player.
Against Detroit, that was Cade Cunningham. Against New York, that was Jalen Brunson. In another twist that will surprise absolutely no one, Walsh was awesome against both of them.
On Cunningham, Walsh allowed him to shoot one for four from the field, which included a three, while also forcing a turnover on the Pistons' superstar, per NBA.com. Boston can't really ask for anything more from Walsh. Yes, they lost that game, but no one looked at that and thought it was on Walsh's head. The Celtics' strategy was daring anyone else in Detroit to beat them not named Cunningham, and they would not have been able to execute that strategy without Walsh.
They deployed that same strategy against New York when they assigned Walsh to cover Brunson. The NBA has not released the matchup data yet, but the fact remains that Brunson had a pedestrian seven-for-17 shooting from the field, with a lot of that being because Walsh got in his airspace. You stop Brunson, you stop the Knicks, and that's what happened Friday night.
So then what's the problem? Walsh's offense is very limited. He's not the best at creating his shot, nor is he the best at controlling his drive to the basket. While he's not a negative from three, he's not a threat from distance.
Until he shows opponents that he can make them pay. When the going gets tough, as awesome as it is to see Jayson Tatum go off the way he did, opponents will smother him and dare Walsh to beat them.
It's a long season, and they just started this experiment, but Walsh has got a fair amount to prove as a two-way player.
So far, the results have actually been spectacular
It's a two-game sample, but the early results indicate that Joe Mazzulla knows what he's doing with Walsh. This starting lineup has a net rating of plus-42.1 in the 17 minutes they have played together, per NBA.com, demonstrating that Walsh playing with the starters is getting results.
Those same numbers change to plus-52.6 when Mazzulla inserts Sam Hauser for Walsh and Neemias Queta for Mitchell Robinson. That may very well prove to be the better lineup, but Walsh has proven that Mazzulla is right to trust him.
The hidden secret about the NBA is that it doesn't matter who starts. It only matters who finishes. Walsh probably won't be counted on to do that much, but as far as his role goes for now, he's flourishing in it, and that's all Boston should want. This might be the best role for him because if it doesn't work out with the starters, then it'd be hard to see where else the Celtics could plug him.
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