LAS VEGAS ― Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are perennial NBA All-Stars who are considered two of the best basketball players in the world. So for a young teammate trying to find his footing, using the two Celtics stars as models would seem a logical place to start.
But Jordan Walsh believes his attempts to mimic Tatum and Brown may have disrupted a more effective path. He will probably never average 25 points per game in the NBA, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But he can become a menacing defender who can consistently hit open 3-pointers when the gravity of Boston’s dynamic scorers pulls opponents from him.
“I just felt like I was forcing it,” Walsh said Thursday, as the Celtics prepared for Friday’s Las Vegas Summer League opener against the Grizzlies. “I was playing a lot of isolation game, doing a lot of step-backs or over-dribbling or going too fast. I was trying to imitate what they were doing, and that’s not my strong suit and that’s not where I’m at in my career.
“So why not just play in the role I’m going to be playing in and keep it simple? That’s what I started thinking going into this year. Keep it simple. They’re not looking for me to do everything, so do the simple things well every time.”
For Walsh, simplicity starts with offensive reads. He wants to develop more awareness of how and when defenders are closing out to him on the perimeter. He said there have been too many times over his first two seasons when he either took a shot when he should have driven to the basket or vice versa.
In the NBA, those decisions often need to be made in milliseconds, and one misstep can quickly blow up a possession.
Walsh made 17 of 64 3-pointers (26.6 percent) in his first two years and knows he will eventually need to improve from beyond the arc. But given his struggles, albeit in a limited sample size, Walsh said he was occasionally thrown off when defenders treated him like a more dangerous shooter.
But he also understood that many of his opportunities came late in lopsided games, against other teams’ backups who were probably trying to show their hustle and were perhaps not as well-versed on the scouting report.
“I don’t really think if I were to play in a big-time game that they’d respect my jump-shot,” Walsh said. “I’d say in a real world and a competitive environment they would not respect my jump-shot, so what do I have to do to get to the point where they have to respect it, and then they close out and make reckless decisions?”
Once that respect arrives, Walsh said, it will give him greater control of the situation based on his reads. He can be the aggressor.
Walsh does not know what his role will be next season, but he is aware that there should be more opportunities following the departures of so many key pieces from the 2024 championship team.
Even though the 21-year-old is entering just his third pro season and was used sparingly during his first two, he is suddenly the sixth most-tenured Celtic, including Tatum, who will likely miss next season because of an Achilles’ injury.
Walsh said he has spoken to Brown, whom he considers his mentor, about how he can be most helpful when the two are sharing the court with Tatum out. One thing he has already learned, though, is that he will not try to be either of Boston’s superstars.
“Obviously making people respect my jump-shot so they’re not sinking as much while helping on [Brown],” Walsh said. “They’re respecting me so they’re holding space, and now his lane is wide open. Or, even just playing defense, getting steals, kicking the ball ahead. Whatever it is, just finding ways to make the game easier for the other guys.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
