Inspiring Jordan Walsh performance highlights Celtics’ most surprising advantage

The Boston Celtics had quite the challenge when they faced off against the Atlanta Hawks, who had won 14 of their last 15 games. Even harder, they would have to do it without Jaylen Brown and with Jayson Tatum still getting back into game shape.

However, playing a pivotal game while undermanned is just another Tuesday for the Celtics (or in this case, Friday), so they had to tap into the stay-ready group to be up to the challenge against the Hawks. Who would step up for them in Brown's absence? Jordan Walsh.

Walsh had a plus/minus of plus-3 when it was all said and done. His five points won't exactly wow anyone either, but it was clear how big a role he played in the win. His defensive presence altered the game, as he registered three blocks on the night against a talented team loaded with two-way wings.

The one shame of it is that these days, Walsh is only getting minutes when Boston is down a man or two. Not because of him, but only because the team has so many wings that have outshone him over the past month or so (and Tatum's return). Before all of that happened, Walsh was getting consistent minutes because he had been proving his value on the floor for the Tatum-less Celtics.

He's a high-energy, athletic two-way wing who's hard to score on, hard to block out, and hard to ignore when he's spotting up for three. It's not like he had a hot streak or anything; he was playing legitimately good basketball. He's just had a fate much like that of the gone-but-not-forgotten Josh Minott.

He showed that again in a game the Celtics really needed him to. The fact that his minutes have been spotty really speaks more to how good all of the other players who happen to play the same position as him are.

Could games like these get Walsh back into the rotation?

Walsh didn't light up the box score, but Boston depended on him for 27 minutes, giving him the edge over Hugo Gonzalez. As awesome as it would be to see Walsh get the minutes he's deserved with how well he's played, it will also come at the expense of someone like Gonzalez or Baylor Scheierman.

There are simply too many mouths to feed on the Celtics' roster at the moment. Funny enough, while that has been a problem in the past, it's only been a strength for Boston this season. Games like these re-establish how useful Walsh can be, especially against teams with wing depth like the Hawks.

In summation, when games like these happen, Jaylen Brown can take all the time he needs to recover from Achilles tendonitis. Lord knows the Celtics don't want to deal with another torn Achilles again, and because of super-subs like Walsh, they can withstand absences like Brown's for as long as they want.