NEW YORK CITY — Throughout the first weeks of the regular season, Jordan Walsh was accumulating DNPs. But even throughout that time, Jaylen Brown continued to inspire confidence in him.
“We sit next to each other on the plane, so I talk to him all the time,” Brown said. “That’s what this team needs: someone who can go out and guard your best player every night. And even when Jordan wasn’t playing, I was telling him, “This could be you.»
Walsh didn’t ask permission before sitting next to Brown on the plane — Kristaps Porzingis had left and the seat was available.
“I just sat down,” the 21-year-old said with a smile. “He has no choice.”
Walsh didn’t know it at the time, but those early conversations can translated into numerous opportunities on the ground.
“We were talking about how we felt we needed a guy who could come in and guard the best player every night,” Walsh said. “He kept telling me, ‘I think it’s you. I think it could be you.’ I said to myself, “All right. I am with you. I think so too. So he said, “I’ll have a talk with Joe, and we can go from there.” I was like, “Alright, cool. »
Walsh never asked whether Brown actually had went to Mazzulla: “He told me he was going to do it. I don’t know if he actually did it, but he said he would do it.”
A few weeks ago, Walsh was put into the rotation for the first time. And, for now, he’s in the starting lineup, too — Walsh started against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Looking back, Brown’s trust in Walsh meant a lot to him.
“I really felt like he kind of trusted me, without even having any kind of proof,” Walsh said. “I mean, obviously we have practices, and some Summer League stuff, and whatnot – but him going out of his way to have this conversation, I think, makes a big difference, because it shows that he trusts me. And so, ever since then, I’ve kind of had to prove to these guys that I can be trusted.”
Part of Brown’s faith in unproven forward can come from his direct experience. Over the past three seasons, Walsh has frequently guarded players like Brown and Jayson Tatum in practice, while carefully studying the defensive instincts of guys like Jrue Holiday. The struggles between Walsh and Brown continued even though Walsh was completely out of the rotation last season.
“We play a lot of one-on-one,” Walsh said. “We play two-on-two and stuff like that, where I was on him, he was guarding me. Just kind of back and forth of competitive energy.”
Jordan Walsh’s defensive success impressed his teammates
The results have been undeniable: Over the past week, Walsh has been thrust into the starting lineup and given some of the toughest defensive assignments in the league. Over the past 10 days, he has guarded Orlando Magic forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden.
All four players present unique challenges and against all four, he showed impressive defensive versatility. According to NBA stats, he held Banchero and Wagner to a combined 3-7 shooting, Maxey to 1-9 shooting, Jackson to 0-5 shooting and Harden to 3-7 shooting.
“I want to stop them,” Walsh said of his mindset when crafting tough defensive assignments. “I think I want to make my mark on the league, and that starts with defending guys like that.”
All the while, he earned the respect and praise of his Celtics teammates.
“He did a hell of a job on defense. We need that,” Payton Pritchard said. “He brings the energy that protects the best player every night, and I think that’s his calling card.”
“He got his chance and he’s playing well right now,” Brown said. “So we have to keep this.”
Joe Mazzulla has known Walsh for almost two and a half years now. Last year, he was rarely looked to for any real rotation minutes.
But the Celtics roster is completely different and a whole new opportunity presents itself. It’s still early, but so far Walsh has seized the opportunity.
“That’s the role — that’s what you have to become, that’s a guy that can guard anybody on any night,” Mazzulla said. “And he accepts that.”
