The Boston Celtics starting Jordan Walsh hasn't been a failure, even though the experiment will continue to raise questions. The primary reason why he's getting the nod over some of the Celtics' other wings is because of his elite one-on-one defense against some of the NBA's best scorers, Jalen Brunson and Cade Cunningham.
However, against Brooklyn last night, Walsh showed that there is more to his game. Yes, he still won't be respected offensively, but that doesn't mean he's not capable of making his opponents pay when they don't respect him. That was on display against the Nets.
Walsh shot three for five from distance last night, which honestly is something he's proven to be capable of, but what's more is that most of the damage he did from beyond the arc came during a game in which Boston couldn't hit anything from three.
Again, that's happened before during the Mazzulla Ball era, and in all fairness, the Celtics eventually caught fire, but it was Walsh's three-point shooting before the rest of the team followed suit that kept them in it when it looked like the Nets had all the momentum.
However, that wasn't Walsh's only contribution. With Brooklyn up and with the ball with six seconds left, Mikel Brown Jr. inexplicably shot a contested layup when all he had to do was hang onto the ball (he out-JR Smith'd Neemias Queta). Walsh tipped the rebound to Paul George with two seconds left, which was all Boston needed to set up the epic Jayson Tatum buzzer-beater.
Tatum will get the most credit for the win, as he should, but we must not act like Walsh had nothing to do with it. He absolutely did.
Nights like tonight prove Walsh's value
Walsh has his imperfections, but he's not a scrub. He hasn't been since the season started. Nights like these show when he can be useful, especially during games in which no one is feeling it. It's not like this is going to happen every night, but in the past, these were trap games that Boston would lose in the most frustrating fashion.
In all fairness, they should have lost this one. There is no excuse for being up by four with four seconds left, only to blow it in regulation. Even so, Walsh was the one who kept Boston steady, so when they finally woke up, they didn't have too big a hill to climb.
Walsh isn't Boston's best starter, but he is still a useful one. With any luck, a performance like this is something he can build on from here. No one's asking him to be Sam Hauser (in part because they already have a resurgent SamHauser), but if that three-ball comes along nicely enough, Walsh will prove Joe Mazzulla to be a smart man.
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