The Boston Celtics are now 10-2 and in the midst of a five-game winning streak. They won ugly last night, but they should still be pretty proud of themselves for winning all four road games. Not to mention, now they get a nice break from it all.
All of this is to say that there isn't much to complain about with this team. With all the questions about them coming into the season, they have answered pretty much all of them. Among the lingering ones is what to make of the Jordan Walsh experiment.
Walsh has been getting starting nods on and off, though he didn't get one last night against Toronto. His primary appeal is easy to understand: he has the IQ and athleticism to make life difficult for any team with an elite scoring guard. It has worked sometimes, but not always, like with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Brunson, but not so much against the likes of Tyrese Maxey.
Even so, in that regard, Walsh does his job and then some. He should be appreciated for how he helps Boston on that side of the floor. It's just the rest of his game that's the problem, so much so that it feels like his leash can only be for so long before Boston realizes he is best used as a utility player.
Walsh is helping somewhat, but not a lot
Again, for what the Celtics want Walsh to do first and foremost, he's doing it. Even when guys like Maxey are going off against him, it's not like it's because Walsh isn't trying his best. Some guys are just that good that it doesn't matter. Besides, it's not like that really helped the 76ers.
However, anyone who watches Boston play can see how little their opponents respect Walsh offensively. They are perfectly content to watch him let it fly from distance, as long as it means neither Jayson Tatum nor Paul George is the one shooting. This season, he's shooting 26.7% from distance, a swift decline from last season, when he shot 38.4%.
If Walsh's three-point percentage goes up, that changes some things, but even so, it's not like Boston has tried to develop him as a legitimate threat from there, a la Sam Hauser. Opponents crowd Tatum and George in part because they're not afraid of Walsh, whether he's shooting well from three or not.
Making Walsh look worse is Boston's net rating with him. For the record, their net rating is slightly better than average when Walsh is on the floor, at a plus-2.8. That looks on par with the eye test. However, with him off, the Celtics are a plus-16.7. They are perfectly okay when he's on the floor and elite when he's off it.
The season is almost a month old, so for all we know, Walsh's individual offensive production and the Celtics net rating with him could get better with more time. Boston may hope so, and again, it's not like Walsh's struggles have gotten in their way. However, when the likes of Baylor Scheierman and Sam Hauser have looked better, there will come a point where the Celtics can't ignore the facts.
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