Boston Celtics second-year forward Jordan Walsh spent a majority of his rookie season on assignment in Maine with Boston’s G League team, as he helped lead the way for a G League Finals appearance in Maine.
The expectations for him this summer are high after the rookie season he produced, averaging 14.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game with 43/36/74 shooting splits in 27 games last year.
Leading up to the game, Walsh told the media that he was excited to showcase himself on the court without having Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown to feed the ball too, but understanding that he needs to show Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla he can play the role they need him to.
Walsh followed this up with an unimpressive performance. He finished the game with only four-points on an ugly 1-of-8 shooting, taking six from behind the arc and making none of them. He also had five rebounds.
He played like a shooter and forced too many shots rather than the drive-attack, working the post that we’ve seen him be successful with in the past year.
It’s worth mentioning that he primarily shared the floor with JD Davison, Jaden Springer, and Neemias Queta with rookie Baylor Scheierman as the main group for Boston in the first game of the summer.
Walsh has enough experience with Davison to know how to play alongside him and the same can be said for Queta who also spent time with Maine last year.
It’s hard to believe that Boston would expect Walsh to play a different way this summer, but we also don’t know yet if they’re working on a different concept with him this offseason. But it’s fair to say that Walsh didn’t look great and somewhat out of character at times.
There was a moment in the third quarter that Walsh expressed his frustration after missing another shot, letting out a scream on the court in the moment. It’s something that he’s done in the past and it carries with him throughout the court of the game. He needs to play more calm, cool, and collected.
The Celtics have a lot invested in Walsh. They signed him to a four-year, $7.6 million contract using the second round pick exception, which allows teams to sign second round picks to a three or four year standard deal.
Walsh is part of the 15-man roster and has an opportunity for a role in Boston this season. We’ll see how the rest of his Summer League plays out for him.
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Photo Credit: Bart Young, NBAE Getty Images
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