Jordan Walsh was ejected from the Boston Celtics‘ summer league loss to the Miami Heat on Monday, July 14. The 21-year-old forward received back-to-back technical fouls in the second quarter, ending his participation in the contest as a result.
Walsh’s second technical came courtesy of a two-handed shove on Pelle Larsson. Walsh then followed it up by pushing Larsson again as he looked to retaliate. His poor decision-making took place in front of Brad Stevens, Mike Zarren and new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm, who all sat courtside.
However, not everyone who witnessed Walsh’s physicality took issue with his actions. According to the former Arkansas product, Joe Mazzulla sent him a text message after his ejection. Walsh detailed the message when speaking to the media after the game.
“As soon as I got ejected, I got to the locker room, I checked my phone, He was texting me, ‘I loved this out of you,’” Walsh said. “So take that for what it is, but Joe was hype.”
In truth, that sounds like something Mazzulla would do and say. He’s consistently looking to tap into the competitive edge of his players. Mazzulla likes to challenge his players mentally and encourages them to show grit and toughness on the court.
Walsh Apologises to Celtics Front Office
As reported by Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog, Walsh was quick to offer an apology to the Celtics front office members who saw his ejection unfold in front of them.
“I apologize to him, just because that’s not really me,” Walsh said. “I’m more of a professional than that, more mature than that — so I just wanted to make sure that he knew that this wasn’t gonna be a continuous thing.”
Walsh was having arguably the best summer league game of his career before his ejection. He looks stronger than most other players on the floor, has shown his athletic burst around the rim, and was knocking down perimeter shots. Before his ejection, Walsh dropped 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from three.
Baylor Scheierman Shines in Summer League
Outside of his 3-point shooting, which has struggled throughout his first three games of Summer League, Baylor Scheierman put in a solid performance. The sophomore forward has been showcasing his playmaking skills since arriving in Las Vegas, and ended the game against Miami with 9 dimes to his name.
Scheierman also notched 19 points, 5 steals and 3 rebounds as he produced an all-action performance to keep Boston within touching distance. Of course, Scheierman must show signs of improvement from deep. Perimeter scoring is supposed to be one of his strongest skills. He has to knock down his jumpers if he wants to contend for minutes at the NBA level next season.
Still, as far as Summer League performances go, this was a strong one from the Creighton product. Scheierman’s wide-ranging skill set should help him fight for a rotation spot next season, especially as the Celtics embrace a re-tooling year. His playmaking could certainly come in handy off the bench, as could his sneakily good rebounding. It could be a big year for both Walsh and Scheierman.
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