In final evening’s 102-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics reached clutch minutes for a seventh time this season, tied for the fourth most 5-under-5 conditions within the league.
Of their 5 clutch losses, two of which have now come by the hands of the Sixers with their three matchups determined by a complete of 4 factors, three have come right down to a possession the place the protection acquired the preliminary cease however couldn’t seize the defensive rebound.
These rebounding woes have continued this season, however boy can this staff work to get the preliminary cease, and as a self-described gap-year optimist, it’s laborious to not come away from this recreation with out no less than a couple of optimistic issues to say particularly about Jordan Walsh’s glorious defensive efficiency.
Walsh has now seen his quantity known as for clutch moments in two straight video games, and in each cases, he’s proven folks precisely what they should see as he faces a make-or-break season in Boston.
“I believe it says loads concerning the belief this group has in me,” Walsh stated. “Clearly Joe, but additionally the belief the blokes have in me as nicely, getting me concerned, trusting that if I’m guarding the perfect participant, we would like me on there and he’s gonna get a cease.”
Walsh, like Josh Minott and Hugo Gonzalez earlier than him, has been given his shot to impress throughout the wing rotation, and he’s giving Joe Mazzulla causes to search for him down the bench, and it begins with that defensive aptitude and builds additional via his progress as an offensive contributor.
“Simply the hassle that he performs with on the defensive finish,” Mazzulla stated. “The totally different ways in which he can play-make on the offensive finish whether or not it’s screening, offensive rebounding, pulling down open photographs, which he’s accomplished. So he’s simply getting higher and higher, gotta stick with it.”
Walsh performed almost each second of clutch time on Tuesday evening, solely trying out on Boston’s ultimate possession after they inserted Anfernee Simons into the sport. In that look, Walsh’s main activity was defending an All-Star scorer in Tyrese Maxey, stopping him on two clear-outs down the stretch.
Walsh finally spent a complete of six minutes defending Maxey, holding him to 1-of-9 taking pictures, a pair of free throws and two assists. In clutch time, Maxey was 1-for-3 taking pictures with a pair of free throws for 4 factors. In whole, the Sixers had been 5-of-17 when Walsh was the first defender.
Seeing the best way Walsh defended Maxey previous to clutch time gave all of them the proof they wanted to maintain that matchup a precedence. After the sport, Walsh acknowledged an emphasis of understanding participant tendencies and determining find out how to place a scorer of Maxey’s caliber in uncomfortable conditions.
Maxey, an elite pull-up shooter off screens and a deadly-space creator via his step-back recreation, took photographs early on this evening that reeked of befuddlement, like this isolation possession within the second quarter the place Walsh completely shadowed him each step of the best way to the free throw line, snuffed out a pivot foot spin and matadored Maxey’s scoop layup.
Most significantly in that clip is the truth that Walsh stays with him with out being overly bodily. It’s principally physique defending together with his fingers straight up. It’s a particularly spectacular defensive cease.
When Maxey wished to get into his off-screen recreation, Walsh continued to disrupt with out taking part in too bodily on the ball. This quarter-ending possession is a straight-forward give-and-go, with V.J. Edgecombe setting the display screen for Maxey to fireplace off a last-second shot. Not precisely probably the most intimidating screen-setter on this planet, however Edgecombe’s display screen is so near the sideline that it doesn’t give Walsh a lot time to react, but he easily turns the nook and supplies a wonderful contest on what would have been a clear look.
Right here, Walsh has to defend a double-drag set by Edgecombe and Andre Drummond, and whereas it’s not as clean a maneuver evading the display screen like within the earlier clip, Walsh’s restoration from the preliminary Edgecombe bump and the following contact with Drummond is fairly spectacular. When he recovers, he has the good thing about a well-positioned drop from Luka Garza, who’s positioned shut sufficient to each the rolling Drummond and ball-handling Maxey to contest both choice, and due to Garza’s positioning and Walsh’s restoration, it’s two gamers on each side of Maxey which are capable of strongly contest an off-the-mark floater.
Having seen all of the methods he impacted Maxey’s consolation degree previous to the sport’s clutch minutes, let’s have a look at the three photographs Walsh defended in these ultimate 5 minutes. Walsh will get a hand as much as contest on each single one in all these, although Maxey does begin with this robust pull-up jumper the place Walsh once more stays hooked up on the drive. Minutes later, Maxey weasels his strategy to the very same spot on the ground, however merely has nowhere to go when Walsh doesn’t chew on his up-fake. With no dribble and a late shot clock, that is Maxey at his most uncomfortable, and it’s a desperation fadeaway that hits the again of the iron.
With below a minute left and in determined want of a cease, this complete clip is an amalgamation of every part we simply noticed. If there was one clip you had to remove from this recreation with reference to Jordan Walsh’s place within the rotation, it’s this one proper right here. In a single possession, he’s defending a clear-out, a relocation with a display screen denial and a late drive on one of many league’s craftiest scorers, and he passes each check on the best way to an important cease. Not solely are his ft preserving tempo with Maxey’s, however he has a hand up in his face for almost the complete possession and particularly when he is aware of the shot clock’s operating down and a shot has to return off Maxey’s fingers.
It’s good protection, and precisely the type of sequence followers wanted to see from Walsh in his third NBA season.
