Last season, Jordan Walsh faced the same challenge that many rookies encounter: each time he hit the court, his mind and body started moving too fast. He was over-eager, trying to do too much, traveling at a speed of “110 miles per hour,” he estimates.
Jrue Holiday recognized this and advised Walsh to ease his foot off the gas just a little bit. If the 20-year-old did this, his game would be under far better control.
“After talking to Jrue a lot, he’s told me that whenever you’re going 100 miles per hour, you’re gonna make a mistake,” Walsh said following Friday’s practice at the Auerbach Center. “But if you’re going 80-85, then you can make that right read, make that right decision, see the floor clearly 99 percent of the time.”
Fast-forward (but not too fast) to this preseason: Walsh looks like a totally different player, especially on the offensive end. He’s still quick, but he’s slowing down just enough to have time to calculate his decisions.
As a result, he’s been one of the most pleasant surprises of the preseason.
Walsh played in all five exhibition matches, averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting respectable clips of 45.5 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from long range, and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Jordan from D33P 🎯 pic.twitter.com/FmlNFqiVJQ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 4, 2024
He logged the second-most minutes behind Payton Pritchard, the second-most offensive rebounds behind Luke Kornet, and the fifth-most points behind Pritchard, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White. And his defense—his calling card—looked as strong as ever.
After Sunday’s 16-point, 10-rebound effort against the Toronto Raptors, Walsh earned loads of praise from Joe Mazzulla for the growth he’s shown.
“He just has an understanding of what his job is: defend at a high level, defend multiple positions, rebound, and then make reads on the offensive end,” Mazzulla said. “He’s doing a great job. I’m just really proud of his growth. Him, his player development team, the work they put in with him. He works hard at it, and he’s starting to carve out a role and just has a really good attitude toward it.”
Summer League was a turning point in Walsh’s development. He played below his expectations in Las Vegas, shooting just 29.1 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from deep. He described his performance bluntly: “Unacceptable.”
“I was hearing feedback from family, the team, everybody,” the sophomore wing recalled. “I was like, alright, I understand what happened there. So now transitioning from that to the growth mindset of just trying to be a more complete player, a more under-control player, now it’s kind of my focus. I’m slowing my game down and taking more of a vet approach.”
As a result, he’s been fitting in with the true vets of the team. They’re recognizing his improved decision-making, and so they’re trying to get him more involved in actions.
For example, Walsh says that there were multiple instances this preseason where Payton Pritchard passed it ahead to him and urged him to create a scoring opportunity.
“Now they’re not just passing it to me because I’m wide open,” Walsh said. “They’re passing it to me and are like, ‘Go create something for yourself.’”
They’ve also given Walsh opportunities to create for others. There were some occasions in which Walsh brought the ball up and helped to orchestrate the offense. He admits that it brought him out of his comfort zone at first, but he recognizes that he needs to be as versatile of a player as he can be to earn more minutes this season.
It’s easier for him to adapt to new situations now that he’s slowed his game down. As a result, he looks far more confident and controlled going into Year 2.
“Last season, I was going 110 (MPH) for sure,” he said with a smile. “But now, I’m trying to chill at a cool 87.”
