Jordan Walsh impresses with 3-point shooting in Summer League debut as Celtics encourage him to shoot from deep
The second-round rookie scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from deep on Saturday.
Celtics second-round rookie Jordan Walsh showed out in his Summer League debut on Saturday.
The 19-year-old forward scored a team-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from deep, adding five rebounds, two steals, and one block in a 99-88 loss to the Heat. Those who watched Walsh play at Arkansas wouldn’t be surprised that he had a few hustle plays on Saturday (he averaged 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in college).
They would be surprised though by how well they shot the ball from deep. In his lone season with the Razorbacks, Walsh shot 27.8 percent from 3-point territory on just two attempts per game. He hit his first four 3-pointers on Saturday, with a pair of them being catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and one of them being a stepback 3-pointer.
One of the catch-and-shoot 3-pointers came when Walsh was wide open in the corner in the opening moments of the game. He revealed to reporters following Saturday’s game that he was in a similar spot during a practice ahead of the start of Summer League and passed out of the open look in the corner. He learned that’s a big no-no.
“And the gym went crazy,” Walsh said. “They were like, ‘Jordan, what are you doing?’ Like, they were yelling at me. They were like, ‘You have to shoot it.’ ”
The Celtics have made it clear they want Walsh to take those open looks. He appreciates their encouragement after he didn’t have the greatest shooting season at Arkansas.
“I feel like them believing in me and giving me that opportunity and telling me to shoot it, that’s the biggest part because that builds confidence in me and that builds confidence in the team for sure,” Walsh said.
The Celtics gave the No. 38 overall pick a four-year deal, meaning he has a roster spot guaranteed this upcoming season, barring any changes. Whether or not he’ll have any sort of notable role in Joe Mazzulla’s rotation remains to be seen. As it’s often rare for second-round rookies to get playing time for a contender, Walsh knows the mindset he has to have in order to see the court this upcoming season.
“I learned my first day going into Boston that everything affects winning,” Walsh said. “Whether you’re on the bench, whether you’re just walking around in the street, maybe you’re just eating food, whatever you’re doing — everything affects winning.”
“I want to take real responsibility and real pride in everything that I do affects the team in a positive way, affects the organization in a positive way to get another banner,” Walsh added. “And that’s been my focus since Boston called my name to get me on the team.”
One way to possibly see some time on the court is to find a way to mesh with Jayson Tatum. The Celtics star sat courtside for Saturday’s game and had Walsh’s attention. He said he looked Tatum’s way a couple of times during the game, though Tatum didn’t look back. Walsh said it’s “just respect though and that he loves watching Tatum play.
Walsh wants to find a way to help Tatum out.
“I came really just thinking about doing whatever it takes to win,” Walsh said. “Obviously, I wanted to play sort of like a role that I would play if I was playing with a guy like Jayson Tatum. Just being ready to hit those open shots and make easy plays. That was kind of the focus.”
Walsh will get a few more runs this summer to try to focus on that part of his game. The Celtics’ next Summer League game is on Sunday night against the Washington Wizards.
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