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The entire Boston Celtics’ roster spilled onto the court in celebration after Jordan Walsh sealed Sunday’s win in Orlando with a late-game, corner 3-pointer. But it felt notable that the first person to reach him near half court was rookie Hugo Gonzalez. Walsh and Gonzalez are two young players fighting for the same, sometimes-limited batch of wing minutes. And yet the two seemingly have bonded over their similar skillsets, and apparently have pledged to crank up the chaos factor whenever they touch the floor. “The standard is to come in and play that hard, try to affect the game,” Walsh told reporters after Sunday’s win in Orlando. Over the past three games, there’s been a noticeable shift in gears for the 21-year-old Walsh. He’s been relentless in attacking the glass for a Celtics team in desperate need of rebounding aid, and he’s been flying around on the defensive side, generating a whole bunch of deflections while playing steady defense. The 19-year-old Gonzalez already has carved out his own defense-first role and the Celtics continue to dispatch him against top-tier talent. In a season where one of the top priorities should be developing young talent and identifying which of those players can fill rotational roles on Boston’s next title team, the early emergence of Walsh and Gonzalez feels as important as the Celtics being able to lean on the likes of Neemias Queta and Josh Minott in starting roles. It’s clear how impactful Gonzalez eventually might be, even as coaches spend timeouts screaming at him about rookie mistakes. Walsh has had encouraging stretches during his first two seasons in green, but the last three games feel like the first time he’s really tapped into his full havoc potential. Here are four ways the young wings are leaving their imprint: Relentless on the glass Over the last three games, Walsh is rebounding 20.6 percent of opponents' missed shots. That’s the best defensive rebound rate on the team in that span, just slightly ahead of the 7-foot Queta (19.5 percent over last three games). Gonzalez isn’t far behind at 15.2 percent, the fourth-best on the team in that span. The Celtics’ rebounding woes to start the season are well-documented. Boston has one of the best first-shot defenses in the NBA, allowing 92.4 points per 100 possessions in the half court. The Celtics are also dead last in points allowed per miss, giving up 28.9 points per 100 missed fields goals, which is 5.2 points per 100 possessions higher than the league average, per Cleaning the Glass data. Walsh has grabbed at least six rebounds in each of his last three appearances. He has 23 rebounds in 68 minutes of floor time in those outings. Taking on defensive challenges Despite being tasked with some tough defensive assignments, Walsh and Gonzalez have held up well on that end over the last three games. Gonzalez had a part in four different Orlando turnovers during Boston’s second-quarter rally Sunday -- all of them generated by simply fighting through screens and being in the right spots. He drew an offensive foul while running through a screen attempt, then harassed Desmond Bane into a traveling call by staying glued to his side throughout an entire possession. Walsh is holding his defensive assignments to 43.5 percent shooting -- or 4.7 percent below expected output -- while defending 7.7 shots per game in that span. Gonzalez held opponents to 1.9 percent below expected output on 2.7 shots in that three-game span, with opponents routinely willing to move the ball instead of trying to shoot against him. Walsh spent most of his floor time defending Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner during Boston’s double dip in Orlando. The duo combined for 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting with 3 turnovers and a blocked shot. Neither Banchero nor Wagner attempted a shot in the 20 possessions that Gonzalez was deemed the primary defender against them. During Walsh’s postgame interview with NBC Sports Boston after Sunday’s win, Xavier Tillman popped over to give Walsh his defensive flowers. “He’s the king of lockdown. He can guard anybody,” said Tillman. "The bigs, the littles, the wings. It doesn’t matter. Call Jordan, man, he’s your guy.” Nothing but net (rating) Walsh now leads the Celtics in net rating among regulars. In his seven appearances and 92 total minutes, the Celtics have outscored opponents by 22.3 points per 100 possessions. Boston’s offense is 10.8 points per 100 better during Walsh’s floor time, and the defense is 12.2 points better with Boston’s defensive rating plummeting to 102.7 with Walsh on the court. Of the 267 players in the NBA who are averaging 13+ minutes per game with at least five appearances, Walsh now tops the league in net rating. He’s right in front of OKC’s Alex Caruso (+21.3) and Denver’s Nikola Jokic (+19.7). It’s a very small sample and includes a fair amount of trash time. But the Celtics also have a +18 net rating in Walsh’s 68 minutes over the past three games. The only regular with a better number in that span? Gonzalez at +22.3 in his 38 minutes. Double trouble Given those individual numbers, it’s probably no surprise that, in the 44 minutes that Walsh and Gonzalez have shared the floor this season, the Celtics are outscoring opponents by a staggering 32.5 points per 100 possessions. Those numbers were juiced Sunday in Orlando when Walsh and Gonzalez shared a lineup with Anfernee Simons during his first-half scoring outburst that saw the Celtics outscored the Magic by 12 points in a four-minute span. That has helped Boston produce a sizzling 139.8 offensive rating when Walsh and Gonzalez have shared the floor. Their willingness to rebound has helped Boston go small and maximize offensive skill on the court around them. Undeniably, a larger sample size is needed to know if Walsh and Gonzalez can maintain this sort of impact. Walsh seemed to be ready to kick down the playing time door coming out of training camp last season, but never quite harnessed the full-throttle nature required to keep him on the court. Now we have three straight games where he has embraced the speed and intensity necessary to keep him on the court. Both Walsh and Gonzalez have had rough patches, sometimes flying around so fast that they make mistakes. But that sort of intensity has more often produced some inspired play. Now both players simply have to stay in high gear.
