Welcome to Boston, Jordan Walsh!

[playa-hater]

Jordan Walsh's defense may have been his trademark and he certainly lived up to that hype.... And people questioned his shooting rightfully so and he became a pleasant surprise with that... But to me the best part of watching him during summer league was that he showcased potential in many other categories.. Play making passing dribbling mid-range pull up and slashing to the rim are all better than I thought it could be.

[LewisnotMiller]

I didn't know Walsh's parents hired personal coaching for him when he was a 7th grader.

https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/7/14/23793342/boston-celtics-jordan-walsh-defense-competitor-summer-league-charles-stoker-brandon-thomas

Question out of ignorance...is that unusual (either in the States, or just generally)?

[LewisnotMiller]

And the spacing on the Arkansas team that Walsh played for was especially bad. They were 326th ranked in college basketball in 3 pt %.

Yup...I remember hearing that stat and thinking it would be interesting to see what would happen with better spacing. I also thought 'Damn, he won't be able to space for others.'

I didn't know his game beyond a few highlights packages, so take it with a grain of salt, it's just funny how both a negative and positive read on the same basic stat competed for time in my head.

[Fencer reregistered]

I didn't know Walsh's parents hired personal coaching for him when he was a 7th grader.

https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/7/14/23793342/boston-celtics-jordan-walsh-defense-competitor-summer-league-charles-stoker-brandon-thomas

Question out of ignorance...is that unusual (either in the States, or just generally)?

No other Celtic is jumping to mind of whom that is true.

That said, Horford, Tatum and Kornet all had player fathers. In particular, Tatum's father is said to have returned from overseas exactly because he was needed to coach his ignored son. Pritchard's crazy level of work surely had some sort of help or supervision, but I don't recall a story of paid individual coaching.

In American football, Tom Brady had a personal coach growing up.

Basically, these things cost money that not everybody can afford.

[zoyathedestroya]

“When he starts doing that, the fluidity and he doesn’t think twice about it, the game’s just going to open up for him,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “You saw all the things he does. He’ll get some junk baskets, he’ll get some transition buckets, some rebounds, some cuts. But he’s going to also always be active defensively. The way he gets his hands on balls and swipes at dribblers and those types of things, it’s pretty unique. And he plays with great effort.

“So he just has to catch and shoot that thing constantly. It’s not going to be because we didn’t all yell at him to do it. I don’t coach anymore, but I might even say that.”

From Himmelsbach's latest article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/16/sports/jordan-walshs-emergence-joe-mazzullas-fight-night-here-are-11-leftover-celtics-summer-league-nuggets/

[Shak_Celts]

“When he starts doing that, the fluidity and he doesn’t think twice about it, the game’s just going to open up for him,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “You saw all the things he does. He’ll get some junk baskets, he’ll get some transition buckets, some rebounds, some cuts. But he’s going to also always be active defensively. The way he gets his hands on balls and swipes at dribblers and those types of things, it’s pretty unique. And he plays with great effort.

“So he just has to catch and shoot that thing constantly. It’s not going to be because we didn’t all yell at him to do it. I don’t coach anymore, but I might even say that.”

From Himmelsbach's latest article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/16/sports/jordan-walshs-emergence-joe-mazzullas-fight-night-here-are-11-leftover-celtics-summer-league-nuggets/

I hope he gets over his issues in college with that and let it fly like smart!! Dont know if he'll be a shooter, but we need him to pull it like he is and worry about stepping back some if he can't in the future rather than begging him to take the shot even the poorest shooters should take! I still have spoiled potential nightmares of KO, even though he'd be good for us now!

[Hal14]

“When he starts doing that, the fluidity and he doesn’t think twice about it, the game’s just going to open up for him,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “You saw all the things he does. He’ll get some junk baskets, he’ll get some transition buckets, some rebounds, some cuts. But he’s going to also always be active defensively. The way he gets his hands on balls and swipes at dribblers and those types of things, it’s pretty unique. And he plays with great effort.

“So he just has to catch and shoot that thing constantly. It’s not going to be because we didn’t all yell at him to do it. I don’t coach anymore, but I might even say that.”

From Himmelsbach's latest article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/16/sports/jordan-walshs-emergence-joe-mazzullas-fight-night-here-are-11-leftover-celtics-summer-league-nuggets/

The way Brad talks about Walsh, he definitely doesn't seem like he's talking about a guy who's just gonna be stuck in Maine all season.

Walsh is gonna play - he's gonna get mins for the big club this season. How many? TBD. But Brad definitely seems high on him.

[celtxman]

The best surprise is his shot. Summer League or not he has good form. If he makes it to the floor next season he will get open looks. During SL pointed out that Grant Williams averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds in his rookie season. It's possible this kid can contribute similarly or better

[darrendaye]

“When he starts doing that, the fluidity and he doesn’t think twice about it, the game’s just going to open up for him,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “You saw all the things he does. He’ll get some junk baskets, he’ll get some transition buckets, some rebounds, some cuts. But he’s going to also always be active defensively. The way he gets his hands on balls and swipes at dribblers and those types of things, it’s pretty unique. And he plays with great effort.

“So he just has to catch and shoot that thing constantly. It’s not going to be because we didn’t all yell at him to do it. I don’t coach anymore, but I might even say that.”

From Himmelsbach's latest article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/16/sports/jordan-walshs-emergence-joe-mazzullas-fight-night-here-are-11-leftover-celtics-summer-league-nuggets/

The way Brad talks about Walsh, he definitely doesn't seem like he's talking about a guy who's just gonna be stuck in Maine all season.

Walsh is gonna play - he's gonna get mins for the big club this season. How many? TBD. But Brad definitely seems high on him.

I anticipate he'll be in the, all-important with this team, load management coverage mix (Kornet/Banton/Walsh).

[LewisnotMiller]

I didn't know Walsh's parents hired personal coaching for him when he was a 7th grader.

https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/7/14/23793342/boston-celtics-jordan-walsh-defense-competitor-summer-league-charles-stoker-brandon-thomas

Question out of ignorance...is that unusual (either in the States, or just generally)?

No other Celtic is jumping to mind of whom that is true.

That said, Horford, Tatum and Kornet all had player fathers. In particular, Tatum's father is said to have returned from overseas exactly because he was needed to coach his ignored son. Pritchard's crazy level of work surely had some sort of help or supervision, but I don't recall a story of paid individual coaching.

In American football, Tom Brady had a personal coach growing up.

Basically, these things cost money that not everybody can afford.

Hmm...interesting.
I think it might be more of a degree thing, but just for comparison, I have a daughter, a nephew and a niece playing decent level, and in 7th grade (the niece is actually 6th)...

My daughter certainly doesn't have a personal coach...but she gets personal coaching, mostly from an import from the local NBL1 team (basically, G-League). This isn't 1-on-1, but instead small groups of between 2 and 4, just to reduce cost a little. It's only about once a week in terms of frequency.
She also has training twice a week with her team (which I coach, but that's kinda beside the point) and there is a development program once a week she's involved in. Bigger group for that, but there would be about 1 coach for every 4 kids.
Besides that she plays twice a week. However, her school has only a very basic basketball program.

My nephew and niece both have three sessions a week with their teams (different clubs) and have either one on one coaching (my niece) or small group skills coaching (my nephew) for one session a week as well.

We are all okay financially, but none of us are rich. The cost isn't crazy...I guess the small group stuff from a professional player costs between $20 and $40 per hour depending on numbers. The development program I mentioned is cheaper, and the team training is obviously free.

The club also organises free training towards the back end of the season (roughly now) where coaches run extra training sessions for kids of the age group they'll be coaching in the next season, just to do some scouting and get to know the kids.

(I coach at a very large club - over 300 junior domestic teams, and almost 100 junior championship teams...

I was kinda curious how different all that is to an American kids experience. Given that my daughter, my nephew, and my niece play at three different clubs scattered around Melbourne, it seems pretty consistent in this part of Australia, at least.

[zoyathedestroya]

Watch on YouTube

[Hal14]

#5 ranked rookie at summer league. Not bad for the 38th pick, imo.

Read on Twitter

Admittedly, I was a little surprised to see him ranked above the Thompson twins here.

It's just summer league, but C's fans have a lot to be excited about with Walsh.

Love the energy he brings too, the tenacity on the court, the hustle, he clearly has a passion for the game. I think he'll fit in great here.

[lon3lytoaster]

#5 ranked rookie at summer league. Not bad for the 38th pick, imo.

Read on Twitter

Admittedly, I was a little surprised to see him ranked above the Thompson twins here.

It's just summer league, but C's fans have a lot to be excited about with Walsh.

Love the energy he brings too, the tenacity on the court, the hustle, he clearly has a passion for the game. I think he'll fit in great here.

Not bad. I didn’t expect him to shine at all in SL just given that he’s yes a good transition player, but the hard nose grind it out defensive guys usually aren’t the “stars” of SL.

He was fun to watch though. Like the energy.

[bucknersrevenge]

I'm still a little reticent on him getting minutes in the rotation to start out. And I still think he will have an upward climb in proving to Joe that he will take the open shot when it's there let alone make it. They are guys in front of him that are less reluctant shooters. But his D is obviously what gets him in the door to the discussion. I would say he's a deep bench/garbage time guy for at the very least the first half of the season. He watches and learns in practice and maybe late Joe throws him out there a little.

[Riverwalk2021]

Walsh looks like the real deal. Showed he could a bit of everything but his great attitude, energy and tenacity stand out the most.

[djFan71]

I'm still a little reticent on him getting minutes in the rotation to start out. And I still think he will have an upward climb in proving to Joe that he will take the open shot when it's there let alone make it. They are guys in front of him that are less reluctant shooters. But his D is obviously what gets him in the door to the discussion. I would say he's a deep bench/garbage time guy for at the very least the first half of the season. He watches and learns in practice and maybe late Joe throws him out there a little.

You're probably right in how it plays out, but I'd love for Joe to just see the potential and throw him in from day 1 to build more of a base of experience for the playoffs. His direct competition is Brissett and Hauser, so I feel like the risk is low. His other competition is more minutes for Tatum/Brown/etc, which I would also like to limit.

I doubt it happens, but Walsh with 800+ minutes instead of 500+ come playoff time is that much more valuable.

[Hal14]

I'm still a little reticent on him getting minutes in the rotation to start out. And I still think he will have an upward climb in proving to Joe that he will take the open shot when it's there let alone make it. They are guys in front of him that are less reluctant shooters.

I mean, granted it's just summer league but Walsh attempted 5.4 threes a game. That's pretty high volume. For a somewhat apples to apples comparison, Sam Hauser during his first summer league with the C's attempted 5.2 threes per game.

And it's obviously a small sample size of games, but Walsh shot 41% from 3 in summer league - 44% if you remove the 2 desperation heaves he took at the end of the shot clock with a defender right in his face (normally he would never attempt those 2 shots, they were just desperation heaves).

Also, there's more to basketball than just shooting. Let's look at the guys Walsh would be competing with for mins:

Hauser - good shooter but Walsh potentially does everything else better (defense, rebounding, passing, ball handling, athleticism, etc.)
Pritchard - good shooter but Walsh potentially does everything else better (defense, rebounding, passing, ball handling, athleticism, etc.). Walsh is also MUCH bigger. And Pritchard was a streaky shooter last season, shot 36% from 3 which is good but not great. It was only about 33% till late in the season when he got hot in some meaningless games where we rested our starters..
Brissett - not a great shooter. Brissett with more NBA experience, but Walsh is potentially comparable in all areas of the game

Does Walsh probably start out camp behind all 3 of these guys on the depth chart? Yes.

Is it possible that he ends up getting minutes over some of these guys? Absolutely, imo.

Pritchard, Hauser and Brissett are all pretty good players. BUT Pritchard and Hauser barely got any playoff minutes for us last season, and Brissett was behind Nesmith in the Pacers rotation. It should not shock anybody if Walsh leap frogs some of these guys on the depth chart.

[bisme37]

Walsh didn't make the Summer League 1st or 2nd team. A bit of a snub imo but not a big deal lol.

This SB Nation guy says JW was the 5th best rookie at Summer League if anyone wants to check out his list...

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2023/7/17/23792476/nba-rookie-summer-league-rankings-las-vegas-2023-victor-wembanyama

[bisme37]

Btw, I was/am a big fan of Grant and hated seeing him go. But I gotta admit Walsh is already taking his spot on my Binkie List haha. I love this kid.

[31to6]

The best surprise is his shot. Summer League or not he has good form. If he makes it to the floor next season he will get open looks. During SL pointed out that Grant Williams averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds in his rookie season. It's possible this kid can contribute similarly or better

One thing I liked is that he always looked on balance and squared up with his jumpers (a few last-second chucks aside). ESPECIALLY the few times he took one dribble in and pulled up from 18 feet or so — totally on balance. His legs can definitely get splayed out wide, but they’ll work on that pretty quickly, and in an era of Kobe fades and Dirk/KD one-leggers I just found it refreshing that to Walsh a jump shot is just a jump shot. For his basic non-star role, that’s reassuring that he can be a good pressure relief shooter.