ORLANDO — Minutes have been fleeting this season for Jordan Walsh. He saw just 24 total minutes over the Celtics’ first eight games, struggling to crack head coach Joe Mazzulla’s wide-open and ever-evolving rotation. Excluding two-way players, Walsh has the most healthy DNPs (four) of anyone on Boston’s roster.
But when an opportunity for playing time arose Wednesday night, the third-year wing capitalized.
Walsh gave his team a necessary spark in the late first and early second quarters against Washington, delivering a series of hustle plays to help the Celtics overcome an early 14-point deficit. His bully-ball defensive rebound and well-timed steal both led to Boston 3-pointers at the other end.
The Celtics outscored the Wizards by 13 points with him on the court in the first half and then cruised to a 136-107 victory.
Asked Friday whether he felt like he was fighting for his life in those minutes, Walsh replied: “Absolutely.” His goal, he said, was to cause chaos on all fronts.
“Anything I could do to mess up the game, I was doing,” he said before the Celtics’ road matchup against the Magic. “Like, that was just all over the place. But yeah, there were definitely some moments where I was, like, I was confused at what I was doing. But if I’m confused, I know they’re confused, too. So I’ll just make it look good, and it just ended up working.”
Walsh logged 24 minutes in the win, doubling his season total, and finished as a plus-27. His seven rebounds were the second-best single-game mark of his career, and his two steals tied his career high. He also scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and hit one of his two 3-pointers.
“I think it went well,” Walsh said. “Obviously, it feels amazing. But I feel like the biggest thing is just staying ready, staying consistent in what got me the opportunity. Going to every shootaround, doing every optional thing, as many times as I can, just get in the gym, stay in the gym.”
Mazzulla, who has favored players like Josh Minott, Hugo Gonzalez, and Baylor Scheierman over Walsh in most games this season, commended the 21-year-old for staying prepared.
“I thought he was great (Wednesday night),” Mazzulla said after the game. “I thought just both ends of the floor, his presence defensively, his rebounding, his positioning, he has got good defensive instincts. I thought he played really well.
“I thought our defense changed it, but I also think he sparked the change in the game just because of the way he plays. It’s a credit to him just staying ready, making sure he’s ready at any time.”
https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/11/07/seldom-used-celtics-reserve-embraced-confusion-in-season-best-performance/
