Jordan Walsh is trusting simple things, leaning on Jrue Holiday to become Celtics' top defender

BOSTON Shortly before the Celtics opened preseason last weekend, a question from Joe Mazzulla offered Jordan Walsh a new perspective on his role with the team.

In a discussion about what Walsh would need to do on the court, Mazzulla emphasized all the dirty work the second-year pro would need to embrace.

Advertisement Youve gotta rebound, crash, defend at a high level, sprint, you might not get the ball, rebound again, go play defense, Mazzulla said, as Walsh recalled Thursday afternoon.

Walsh said he could do it all.

Whatever the team needed.

Thats easy , he told his coach.

Is it? Mazzulla asked.

The response made Walsh think.

At that moment, he said the difficulty of his assignment clicked for him.

It wouldnt be hard to convince himself to buy into the role.

The hard part would be living up to the role repeatedly, on each possession, no matter what.

Glamour doesnt always come to the hustle guys and defensive stoppers, but the best never let anything stop them from fulfilling their primary responsibilities.

Its easy to think something that simple could be easy, Walsh said Thursday while standing near the Celtics practice court.

But when youre tired, when youre in the flow of a game, when you havent gotten so many shots, other stuff starts to creep in.

So now youve gotta convince yourself, like, all right, weve gotta do this over and over again.

Turning up the intensity pic.twitter.com/T48tOnyhOD Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 10, 2024 After rarely playing for Boston during his rookie season, Walsh sees a bigger opportunity for himself now.

He played significant minutes with the bench during the teams first two preseason games, suggesting he is in the running for a bench spot behind Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser .

Walsh said the Celtics arent asking anything new of him this season, but with a year of experience, he feels better equipped to handle the demands.

The early preseason returns have illustrated how he could potentially impact the team.

Over two games, Walsh leads the Celtics in blocks with three and is tied for second in steals with two.

Crashing the glass like Mazzulla wanted, Walsh has picked up three offensive rebounds.

He has also shown off solid court vision with five assists.

Even while his outside shooting has looked like a potential problem (he is 4 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 9 from downtown), he has contributed elsewhere.

Advertisement Just defensively, being able to be versatile and guard all five positions, Mazzulla said.

Offensively, being able to be versatile, knowing what the matchup is, knowing what the coverage is, and knowing what the right solution to the coverage is.

And I thought he did a really good job on both ends of the floor (over the first two preseason games).

Its not always easy for a young player to do everything the Celtics want from Walsh.

To realize the points wont always come.

To prioritize everything but individual statistics.

To defend relentlessly on play after play.

To stay steady in a league that will regularly test a players confidence.

In July, Walsh expressed disappointment over the way he approached the beginning of summer league.

He believed he cared too much about putting the ball in the bucket at the expense of the smaller details.

In an attempt to take flight, he instead crashed to the ground while shooting 29.1 percent from the field throughout five games.

The experience reminded him he needed to focus on filling the role the coaching staff emphasized to him.

Even when not actually next to Jayson Tatum , Walsh wanted to play like he would play to complement the Celtics star.

Walsh said the summer league struggles motivated him over the rest of the offseason.

He lifted more.

He ate better.

He put up extra jump shots.

During the early part of preseason, he has bounced back.

Mazzulla appreciated the way Walsh responded to his wobbly summer league performance.

Hes approached it with great trust, Mazzulla said.

I think its hard for young guys to trust that the most simplest things, youll be rewarded for, and its hard to trust that when youre young.

And so I get the perspective that he had, but hes made a conscious change in his perspective of just trusting that the most important things are the simple things, and thats what youre being judged on, and thats kind of how you grow.

And I think the first two games, hes really shown that.

Advertisement As much as Walsh wanted to score more at summer league, the Celtics coaches stressed all the other areas he could impact.

Its affirming that the simple things will get rewarded, Mazzulla said.

And I think its the way that you have to hold those guys accountable to that is just giving them a clear understanding of like, These are the things that youre being judged on, not the external stuff that you cant control or that you may think is important.

And so heres whats actually important, and when you do that, youre going to get better and youre going to help our team.

And hes done a good job of adjusting for them.

Walsh, 20, still has plenty of room to develop.

Eventually, he hopes to become one of the NBA s top defenders.

He said he has tried his best to learn from teammate Jrue Holiday s tenacity and technique.

Ive been talking a lot to Jrue, trying to get his point of view, his take on defense and a whole bunch of other stuff, Walsh said.

The main thing is I want to be able to be one of the best defenders in the league.

For me to get there I need to have mentors and guys that I can follow.

And Jrue is a prime example for that.

So just trying to watch film on him, see what he does, see his technique, talk to him, get his perspective.

Just stuff like that, I feel like it might not pay off this year or next year, but when it comes time when Im playing consecutive minutes in the NBA, I can take on those attributes and those habits and apply them to myself.

Walshs time for NBA minutes could come soon.

Despite a roster stocked with returners from last seasons championship team, the Celtics have some open minutes near the end of the bench following Oshae Brissett s departure.

Walsh said he is hoping to force his way into Mazzullas plans.

Im approaching it as if theres a spot available for me and I have a chance to go after it, Walsh said.

I feel like thats how everybody should take it.

I feel like there was an open window.

I feel like there is.

And I feel like if I go hard enough and try to execute the right way, then I can get through that window.

Obviously, its still going on, preseasons long for us, so just being able to take every moment as such, and just think that theres something Im going after, theres a spot there for me, and Ive gotta try as hard as I can to get it.

(Photo: Brian Fluharty / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.