One tough part of losing Jaylen Brown was that in big matchups, he often took on the role of defending the other team’s best player. We obviously saw it in the Finals when he did a great job of guarding Luka Doncic, which helped him win Finals MVP. But realistically, JB picked his spots, and although he was capable, he rarely guarded elite creators last season.
The Celtics may not have a clear on-ball stopper in the starting lineup - although they don’t have any liabilities either - but they do have one option flying under the radar that could be one of the best weapons in the league on that end: Jordan Walsh.
Walsh broke out last season, especially on that end of the floor, and had some impressive performances against some of the league’s best ball-handlers, notably doing a great job stopping Tyrese Maxey in the playoffs.
Walsh was a top-5 POA defender in the NBA last season
And Walsh’s defense goes far beyond that and is backed by the stats. According to BBall Index, Jordan was the fifth-best point-of-attack defender in the entire NBA last season, with their metrics for POA defensive talent putting him only behind Ausar Thompson, Cason Wallace, Dyson Daniels, and Jalen Suggs.
The stat combines on-ball defense, ball-screen defense, and matchup difficulty, all categories in which Walsh excelled. He played fewer than 18 minutes per game, but when he was on the floor, he was frequently taking the toughest matchup, stopping ball pressure, and navigating screens at a high level.
His defense is what got him on the floor, and it kept him there, but if he can take another leap on offense, he can be a special player for Boston. He probably won’t be a starter this season, but he’ll certainly be an important part of the rotation, and Joe Mazzulla can pick his spots and make sure that Walsh gets plenty of opportunities against the league’s best offensive players.
Walsh should be bigger part of rotation this season
The potential has been there, and last year, he turned it into impact on the floor. This season, there’s a bigger opportunity there, and if he can keep knocking down open threes, attacking closeouts, crashing the offensive glass, and getting out in transition, he’s going to be a huge part of this team.
Boston has leaned into a style of play that Walsh is built for, and this season they can really unlock him if he’s up for the challenge. They have plenty of good defensive options, but guys like Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and Derrick White can’t be overburdened with tough on-ball matchups all season long.
That’s where Walsh (and Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman) will come into play and provide a massive boost. If he can earn enough minutes, there’s no reason Jordan Walsh can’t find himself on an All-Defense team sooner rather than later.
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