{"id":704880,"date":"2026-04-08T08:30:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T08:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/704880\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T08:30:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T08:30:29","slug":"jordan-walsh-embodies-the-story-of-the-celtics-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/704880\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan Walsh embodies the story of the Celtics season"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2014 For more than two weeks, Jordan Walsh<\/a> didn\u2019t lace up. The 22-year-old, who had, at one point, started 20 straight games for the Celtics, had completely fallen out of the rotation.<\/p>\n

Still, Walsh kept an even-keeled mindset and perspective throughout that adversity.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m still okay with where I\u2019m at because Year 1, I had no chance of playing,\u201d Walsh told CelticsBlog<\/a> on March 22nd, amid a string of DNPS. \u201cThis year, I started 20 games, and we went 15 and 5 \u2014 and I proved that I can play at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that point \u2014 just over two weeks ago \u2014 it seemed likely that Walsh had permanently fallen out of the rotation. But, one hallmark characteristic of this Celtics season has been that as soon as it appears Joe Mazzulla has a solidified rotation, things change.<\/p>\n

That latest change?<\/p>\n

Jordan Walsh is back. <\/p>\n

Over the past 7 games, Walsh has re-established himself as a key member of the Celtics lineup, averaging 20.2 minutes per game.<\/p>\n

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And, in a Tuesday night win against the Charlotte Hornets, he was crucial, tallying 9 points (on 4-4 FG), 6 rebounds, and a steal in 18 minutes of action \u2014 while also guarding Hornets star LaMelo Ball for much of the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just understands that when he\u2019s at his best defensively, he\u2019s impacting the team\u2019s best players, creating turnovers,\u201d said Mazzulla. \u201cI thought he was big tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaylen Brown, who has been one of Walsh\u2019s mentors over the past few seasons, praised Walsh\u2019s impact in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cJordan has the ability to change games,\u201d Brown said. \u201cHis athleticism has the ability to change games. So that\u2019s something that in the playoffs or future certain matchups, that will definitely be just continuing to urge him to have discipline and make the right plays out there and bring energy to our group. It makes a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Brown pointed to a transition basket Walsh got in the first half as a key moment swing for the Celtics.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight, our offense wasn\u2019t going in that second quarter, [he] gets out and runs with the transition dump that gets us going,\u201d he said. \u201cPlays like that are important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan Walsh never changed his approach while sidelined <\/p>\n

Amid his DNPs, Walsh said that he had leaned on his teammates to gain perspective on how to handle a changing role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten a piece of everybody\u2019s story \u2014 Payton [Pritchard], JB [Jaylen Brown],\u00a0Xavier [Tillman]<\/a>, all these people kind of went through similar things,\u201d Walsh said last month. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten their story, and they gave me their knowledge on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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At that point, Walsh concluded he\u2019d ensure that his attention to detail and work behind the scenes didn\u2019t waver, regardless of his on-court opportunities. He\u2019d work just as hard as practice, and be just as meticulous in the film room, ready for the moment in which his number might be called.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of just doing my best in the role that I am in now, and that\u2019s just supporting the guys, showing up to practice, being the last one to leave,\u201d Walsh said then. \u201cLike, all that stuff is so cool to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, Joe Mazzulla took notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s not your turn, what\u2019s your mindset and what\u2019s your consistency? Still chipping away at the workouts? hHw serious do you take a film?\u201d Mazzulla said on Tuesday. \u201cSo [I\u2019ve seen] professionalism and consistency from Jordan, and I think Tyler [Lashbrook] does a great job with the guys that he works with, making sure that they\u2019re ready. But it starts with Jordan\u2019s mindset \u2014 if you\u2019re not playing, how are you getting better? And so he continues to do that, and I think that\u2019s why he could pick up where he left off.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Brown thinks Walsh has improved, even though it hasn\u2019t always been easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust throughout the whole season, I\u2019ve seen an increase and just a better feel overall for what is needed and what he needs to do when he\u2019s out there on the floor,\u201d Brown said. \u201cHe\u2019s just managed that well. At times, it\u2019s not been in his favor, but I think he\u2019s kept a level head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jayson Tatum has similarly been impressed by Walsh\u2019s approach this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being ready \u2014 not necessarily knowing when he\u2019s going to get in, but knowing that part of being a professional is when your number is called to come in and change the game \u2014 crash the glass, defensive rebound, pick up 94-feet, hit open shots,\u201d Tatum said after the Celtics 115-102 win over the Hornets. \u201cAnd give him credit, he definitely did \u2014 [he] changed the energy of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Still, how Walsh will impact the Celtics in the postseason remains to be seen \u2014 he\u2019s never laced up for real postseason action. Jaylen Brown is looking forward to seeing how that shakes it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayoffs is a time of year where you put it all on display, everything that you learn, all the discipline that you\u2019ve acquired, all of that stuff \u2014 the ultimate test is coming up,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

Walsh\u2019s Stay Ready mindset embodies the season the Celtics have put together thus far. Some nights, it\u2019s been Hugo Gonzalez. Other nights, it\u2019s been Baylor Scheierman, Sam Hauser, or Luka Garza. Heck, even Josh Minott \u2014 now a Brooklyn Net \u2014 helped win the Celtics a few games.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how the roster exceeded expectations en route to 54 wins \u2014 and counting.<\/p>\n

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Joe Mazzulla summed it up best.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story of our season up until this point,\u201d he said, \u201cis we got 14, 15 guys that can impact winning.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOSTON \u2014 For more than two weeks, Jordan Walsh didn\u2019t lace up. The 22-year-old, who had, at one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,1266,45,75,3798,670,46,473,3528,78,77,2675,4989,7272,966,17915,121,6,21490,2703,2080],"class_list":{"0":"post-704880","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-baylor-scheierman","10":"tag-boston","11":"tag-boston-celtics","12":"tag-bostonceltics","13":"tag-brooklyn","14":"tag-celtics","15":"tag-charlotte-hornets","16":"tag-hugo-gonzalez","17":"tag-jaylen-brown","18":"tag-jayson-tatum","19":"tag-joe-mazzulla","20":"tag-jordan-walsh","21":"tag-josh-minott","22":"tag-lamelo-ball","23":"tag-luka-garza","24":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","25":"tag-nba","26":"tag-pete-nance","27":"tag-pritchard","28":"tag-sam-hauser"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116368154658407158","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}