NBA Notebook: 76ers rookie Ricky Council IV talks former teammates Jordan Walsh and Jaden Springer

Jordan Walsh made his Celtics rotation debut before the all-star break relieved that Boston had a 16-point lead in hand when Joe Mazzulla subbed him in. Mazzulla gave him a heads up, with Jaylen Brown and Al Horford inactive, that he'd receive a rotation late in the first quarter. Walsh picked up a pair of touch fouls guarding Nets players straight up and along the baseline. He stumbled after grabbing a steal and lost the ball in transition. Walsh also shot 0-for-3, missing two attempts from deep, but Mazzulla let him play through it all in what became a good opportunity to feel out NBA pace and intensity.

"In my head, I was telling myself, Jordan, there's no need to be nervous, this is just basketball, it's what you've been doing since you were a kid," Walsh told Boston Sports Journal after. "The physicality is different. It's on another level. It could be small, sneaky stuff that refs don't see, that maybe y'all don't see, that maybe we don't see, but you'll feel it. Somebody will do it to you and you'll definitely feel it and know that it happened ... the defense does whatever it can to get you out of your rhythm. I try to do it myself sometimes, but it happened a lot tonight ... the physicality, the pace and the speed." 

Walsh returned to the University of Arkansas during the break and spent some time in Dallas following a whirlwind first half where he mostly played with the Maine Celtics, but he joined December and January road trips with the pro team before beginning February active on the team's bench for six straight games. A nod to the G-League work he'd put in, which Walsh's former Razorbacks teammate Ricky Council IV saw when his Delaware Blue Coats visited the Maine Celtics for a pair of games they split. Maine ran away with the second game, 135-109, while Walsh scored 20 points with 10 rebounds.

Council IV scored 28 points and grabbed eight boards himself that night, making an impression of his own as a rookie in the Philadelphia 76ers organization. Entering the draft at 22 after two seasons at Wichita State and a third alongside Walsh at Arkansas, Council IV went undrafted and signed a two-way contract with the Sixers, which he's played on for the season and transitioned into a depth wing role as Nick Nurse has transitioned toward small ball looks without Joel Embiid. That pitted Council IV and Walsh opposite of each other with both active for Boston's win over Philadelphia on Feb. 27. 

“Jordan’s an interesting one," Council IV told BSJ in Philadelphia's locker room before the game. "Was kind of quiet. He was a freshman so I feel like he was just feeling his way out, but I pushed him a lot, because I’d been in college three years and in my first year, I was in the same position, so I was just trying to let him know this is real, and if you’re trying to be a one-and-done, the expectation’s work and you gotta step it up. Put more work in and continue to develop his game, because I seen it in him, especially on the defensive side. He was raw in the offense, but I definitely seen a lot of potential in that. Moving to today -- I’m just happy he’s in the position he’s in and I think he’s in a really good position for years to come down here.” 

Council IV and Walsh never discussed his desire to turn pro after one season, despite Walsh admitting that intention later. Everyone knew. Anthony Black, Nick Smith Jr. and Walsh all arrived with immediate NBA hype, and while the team finished 22-14 (8-10 in SEC), all of its stars struggled to shoot (31.3% 3PT as a team), as Council IV remembered, Orlando made Black a lottery selection. Smith went to Charlotte later in the first round and Walsh, who sacrificed off the bench for most of the season, fell to Boston in the second. Council IV also declared, and went to Chicago for the draft combine and moved into a room right near Walsh's. They spent much of the week last May together, more time than Council remembered them sharing at Arkansas. 

He laughed and smiled now remembering how difficult he tried to make life on Walsh when he first arrived on campus, but playing overlapping positions and as one of the college veterans on the team, Council IV wanted to impress how challenging Walsh's aspirations would be. Walsh averaged 7.1 points per game and turned the ball over more than he served assists, shooting 44.3% from the field and 27.8% from three. Council IV still saw him as a special prospect, and one of the more unique physical defenders he'd seen while playing in the NCAA. 

"His aggression on defense, and then I always felt like his form was really mechanically perfect," Council IV said. "Always felt like his form was really good. It just took more work and, and the ball-handling wasn't horrible or anything close to that. I just felt like he had all the tools you just need to put more work in. And that's why I was so hard on him. Definitely in practice. Really the whole summer practice, man, you ask him, he'll tell you I was on him, because I wanted him to be great as along with the rest of our team ... I was mainly focused on him a lot.”

The Celtics have taken a similar approach as the expansion of their development system continued this season. Walsh has played 36 games with Maine now, averaging 14.4 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.1 SPG, shooting 43.4% from the field and 34.7% on 5.4 three-point attempts each night. That marked an improvement over last year that Council IV has tracked from afar, shaking his head at hitting 40% of his limited attempts from deep with the Magic and Smith shooting 44.3% on his first 115 tries. Council IV buried 40.1% of his threes with Delaware before scoring 16 points in 19 minutes last month against Boston. If only that could've happened one year earlier, he thought. For Walsh, though, it required a change in his thinking about who he'd be as a pro. 

Mazzulla has stressed that from the top, even as JD Davison has racked up accolades in his second Maine season and Walsh has excelled at times, he's said multiple times that the Celtics aren't concerned about the stats they put up at the lower level. It's about showing how they can fit in at the NBA level, and that's where he had to shift his focus early in his stint with Maine on shooting, screening and defending. A new arrival at the deadline has entered into that developmental system in Jaden Springer, who's trying to acclimate to Boston's read-and-react offense while getting his jump shot down. Council IV played alongside him too with the Sixers, and placed Springer in a special class among players he's seen in the league so far. 

"I haven't seen too many defenders better than him," Council IV said. "We done played almost every team in the league so far. So I'm seeing him lock up some of my favorite players. I'm like, 'hey, you keep that up.' That's one thing and his offense is gonna come along as well. He puts the work in. So I'm excited for him to grow with this team as well. Physicality, strength, quickness. I don’t know what it is. Dog in him. He got it.” 

Boston moved on from Dalano Banton while bringing Springer in, a difficult decision after Banton spent nearly one year learning the team's screening system on offense and shifting his role off-ball. The Celtics began assigning him to Maine as available minutes dwindled late in his tenure, where he thrived with expanded ball time, before landing in Portland, Oregon, where he averaged 13.0 PPG on 41.3% shooting in 21.5 minutes per game. Boston shifted its resources toward raising up a young guard the Sixers decided to move on from given their trajectory and finances, one the Celtics originally liked in the 2021 draft. Now, Boston has prospects at guard, forward and a young center in Neemias Queta who showed enough flashes in NBA appearances to mostly bypass G-League time, after already developing reserves Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet into NBA backups.

For Walsh, Davison, Drew Peterson, a two-way forward the Celtics hope emerges in the mold of Hauser, and occasionally Queta since Xavier Tillman Sr. arrived, they've leaned on new Maine head coach Blaine Mueller, who has mirrored many of Mazzulla's offensive tendencies. Celtics assistant Craig Luschenat has served as a liaison between the two teams, while the younger players on Boston's roster have worked with assistants like Tyler Lashbrook, who oversaw Springer's development in Philadelphia before joining the Celtics staff this year. He and Sam Cassell advocated for Boston to pursue Springer when he became available at the deadline with one year left on his rookie deal. Hitting on those moves has become increasingly necessary for an expensive Celtics team, along with drafting and developing later in the first round and into the second. Stevens has begun the process.

"We're really just working on playing out of this system here, playing out of reads that I'll probably have when I'm in the game and situations that I'll be in," Springer told BSJ, describing his work with Lashbrook three hours before Boston's game at New York last month. "I feel like that's the biggest thing for me when I get the chance to go out there on the court. I feel like Philly it's definitely a big difference, different players, they had a guy in Joel Embiid, so the offense ran through the big man or the point guard, and them going pick-and-roll with together. Coming here, it's more of a balance, you've got a bunch of guys who can hoop ... that can attack and make plays for each other ... (Lashbrook) wasn't my personal coach (in Philadelphia), but he might as well have been ... it's definitely been an easier transition learning from him ... watching film, offense, defense, learning the plays. Pretty much everything."

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Atlanta (29-34): Dejounte Murray scored 41 points in 40 minutes as the Hawks slid by the Grizzlies for their third straight win without Trae Young (finger) after the guard underwent surgery on his left hand. Murray had posted more modest production, 21.5 PPG and 8.8 APG on 44.3% shooting, since Young went down ahead of an offseason where Atlanta could shop both guards. Jalen Johnson (ankle) missed Friday's game after suffering a sprain on Wednesday. Young addressed his future in an interview with Taylor Rooks this week, telling her that he loved landing with the Hawks in the draft so he could meet the challenge of delivering a championship to a franchise that hadn't won one. He hopes to remain part of the team.

"You've heard it from the source," Young said. "I wanna win but that's what you've heard too. Like I just wanna win. So that's, that's in Atlanta. That's, that's where I want to be, that's where I envision myself being." 

Boston (48-14): Suffered setbacks against the Cavaliers and Nuggets that ended their 11-game win streak, squandering a 22-point fourth-quarter lead on Tuesday that marked their biggest collapse in 10 years before going down to Denver in a game they trailed throughout. The Celtics seemingly hit their stride with the win over Golden State on Sunday, a game they led by as many as 56 points in forcing the Warriors to sit their starters at halftime. Draymond Green decided to try ignoring Jaylen Brown, who hit three consecutive threes late in the first quarter against the defensive alignment to go ahead by double-digits and the Celtics never looked back. Jayson Tatum had the chance to beat Cleveland at the buzzer, but missed a leaner over two defenders, falling to 1-for-6 in the final 10 seconds of one-point games. He similarly missed a wide open three trailing by two points with less than one minute left in the Denver loss. Xavier Tillman Jr. played his second game in Boston's rotation to help defend Nikola Jokic. Neemias Queta, who remains on a two-way deal, suffered a hyperextended right knee but is probable to become available again on Saturday at Phoenix. 

Brooklyn (25-38): Announced Ben Simmons will miss the rest of the season with a nerve impingement in his back after only appearing in 15 games this year, averaging 6.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 5.3 APG. Simmons played 57 games over the past three seasons between his Philadelphia exit and his arrival in Brooklyn. The latest injury setback for Simmons could spell the end of at least the end of his time with the Nets, and possibly his time in the NBA. He is owed one more season at $40.3 million, which the Nets could stretch across three seasons at $13.4 million if they decide to move on. Simmons will explore treatment options after last playing on Feb. 26. Brooklyn has won 3-of-5 to stay within 4.0 games of the east playoff picture. 

Chicago (31-32): Winners of three straight and 6-of-10 to pull within 3.5 games of the Pacers for the eighth seed and the upper tier of the play-in tournament. DeMar DeRozan delivered them a late win over the Warriors on Friday while a scuffle along the Bulls' sideline between John Collins and Bulls assistant Chris Fleming marked their win this week over the Jazz, with Torrey Craig intervening before the three players received technical fouls. Nikola Vučević, Coby White and DeRozan are all averaging over 20.0 PPG over their past 10 games.  

Cleveland (41-22): Received more bad news during the week that they scored their biggest win of the season, Dean Wade burying five fourth-quarter threes to down the Celtics after trailing by 22 to begin the final frame. Wade also put back the decisive dunk following Darius Garland's miss inside with Donovan Mitchell (knee) out and Evan Mobley turning his ankle following a dunk in the third quarter. Mitchell will be evaluated on Saturday after receiving a PRP injection for what JB Bickerstaff called a wear-and-tear ailment. Max Strus (knee) missed his third straight game in what appears more of a precautionary absence while Mobley is expected to miss extended time with his ankle injury, at least one week according to the team. Garland and Jarrett Allen combined for 67 points without them on Friday to beat the Timberwolves and remain in the No. 2 seed in the east. 

Denver (43-20): With two wins over the league's best team, highlighted by his dominant performances, it's fair to crown Nikola Jokic MVP for the third time in his career at this point barring any unforeseen circumstances late in the year. Jokic hit Aaron Gordon on the back line three times with lobs on his way to 11 assists and 32 points, holding off a late Boston rally that Jayson Tatum struggled through. Tatum had gained ground in some conversations in recent weeks due to the Celtics' success this season, but Jokic's 26.0 PPG, 12.3 RPG and 9.2 APG on 57.9% shooting always seemed difficult to hurdle. Peyton Watson, the second-year Nuggets guard, scored 11 points off the bench in the win and gained ground on Derrick White (72) in blocks among guards with his 61st. The team will not attend the White House celebration of its championship later this month, prioritizing speedy travel to Minnesota one of three games against the Wolves in the packed race between them and the Thunder for the west's top seed. The No. 3 seed would face Phoenix.

Golden State (33-29): Steph Curry suffered a scary right ankle turn during the team's blowout win over the Bucks, a needed bounce back after an embarrassing defeat to Boston that also marked their first game since Jan. 2 at full strength. Curry is only expected to miss 1-2 games, according to Shams Charania. Andrew Wiggins returned from a four-game personal leave for the win while the team celebrated former GM Bob Myers in his return to San Francisco to call the game for ESPN. Golden State remains only 3.5 games below the play-in line in a tie for the ninth seed, 5.5 games up on No. 11.

Houston (27-35): Alperen Şengün played the best two-game stretch of his career, combining for 68 points, 35 rebounds and 17 assists, with 14 alone in the second half of a back-to-back against the Clippers. Houston lost to LA by six, but ran away with the first win over the Spurs as the case to build the Rockets' offense around Şengün strengthened. Ime Udoka has struck a balance between embracing his skill set and playing a more free-flowing offense. 

Miami (35-28): Announced Josh Richardson (shoulder) will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season and they signed veteran Patty Mills after the Hawks bought him out. Richardson initially suffered the injury against the Celtics last month trying to steal the ball in traffic. Miami has lost 3-of-5, including two straight against 35-point performances by Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander against them. Dončić's fourth straight 35-point triple-double broke Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook's record. Terry Rozier is shooting 40.5% from the field (30.3% 3PT) in 15 Heat games. They're now in a tie with the 76ers for the sixth seed above the play-in tournament line. 

Milwaukee (41-22): Tied with the Cavs for second in the east after dropping a game to the Lakers that LeBron James missed, their improved but still flawed defense allowing 41 points to D'Angelo Russell. Khris Middleton (ankle) missed his 13th straight game with what he's described as the most difficult sprain he's ever tried to return from. Doc Rivers said he's returned to on-court work, but has no timetable to return. As the Sporting News has illustrated, Rivers has made the Bucks abandon offensive rebounding in an effort to get back in transition, a mindset the Celtics have felt the opposite about, as written here earlier this season. 

Minnesota (44-20): Karl-Anthony Towns tore his left meniscus and will undergo surgery in hopes of returning early in the west playoffs, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The major blow to the Wolves' hopes of securing the top seed in the west coincided with them sliding behind the Thunder for only the second time since Feb. 8. Towns had been averaging 22.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 3.0 APG on 50.6% shooting, converting 42.3% of his threes as he and Rudy Gobert figured out their frontcourt dynamic into year two. Anthony Edwards' stellar block on Aaron Nesmith and 44 points showed that they're still dangerous and Naz Reid brings a comparable skill set in relief at the four and five, but losing that many points hurts on a relatively thin scoring team.

New York (37-26): Back on track after Jalen Brunson (knee) returned to the lineup after a two-game absence and held the Magic, who briefly moved above them in the standings, to a season low in points for any team with 74. The Knicks, aided by Brunson's 26 points, moved back within 4.0 games of the Bucks and Cavaliers for the second seed and await the return of OG Anunoby (elbow), received clearance for contact and scrimmaging as he began five-on-five work. New York went 12-2 in Anunoby's first 14 games with the team and 7-9 since he and Julius Randle went down. 

Oklahoma City (44-19): The top seed in the west alone above Minnesota and Denver after scoring their eighth straight home win over the Heat. This has become the team's best season since Kevin Durant departed and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains the only threat to Nikola Jokic in the MVP race, now averaging 31.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 6.5 APG, 2.1 APG and 1.0 BPG on 54.6% shooting for a team with an average age of 24, the second-youngest in the NBA. The Gordon Hayward addition hasn't made a substantial difference so far (17 pts last 4 games), nor has Mike Muscala (DNP-CD last two) or Bismack Biyombo (DNP-CD last two), but that's mostly because of the talent in front of them. Biyombo collapsed by the Thunder's bench on Wednesday, but came out of the incident ok.  

"He's fine. He just fainted, basically," coach Mark Daigneault said. "He was in the locker room at halftime laughing and joking."

Philadelphia (35-28): Lost three straight games to fall into play-in territory in the east in a tie for the sixth seed with Miami and only 0.5 games above Indiana. Tyrese Maxey entered concussion protocol earlier this week after a collision with Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. Nick Nurse called the concussion mild, but Maxey will have to pass tests to return to play. The 76ers' decline, now 6-10 without Joel Embiid, puts them in play as a potential first-round opponent for the Celtics as the team remains hopeful Embiid can return from meniscus surgery for the playoffs. Embiid returned to on-court workouts this week and is 100% in the weight room, placing him on track for a potential April return. Philadelphia worked out center Kai Jones this week.

Phoenix (37-26): Enter the first of two matchups with the Celtics this week on Saturday winners of two straight and 6-of-10 after blowing a 22-point comeback against the Nuggets in an eventual win. Grayson Allen hit eight threes and scored 26 points against Denver while Kevin Durant hit a game-tying three with 26 seconds remaining after missing 14-of-17 shots prior. He scored eight points to win in overtime and finish with 35. The Suns upgraded Devin Booker, who's been out since Sunday with an ankle sprain, to questionable for Saturday's game against Boston. Josh Okogie (abdomen) is out. Durant and Bradley Beal are now 18-12 in games they've played together. Jusuf Nurkic has averaged 17.0 RPG over his last six games, including 31 on Sunday against the Thunder, the most by an NBA player since Kevin Love in 2010. The NBA announced Phoenix will host the 2027 All-Star Game. 

Portland (17-45): Host the Celtics on Monday losers of three straight and 8-of-10. Jerami Grant (hamstring), Deandre Ayton (hand) and Scoot Henderson (thigh) all missed the team's loss on Friday to Houston, and both Shaedon Sharpe (abdomen) and Malcolm Brogdon (elbow) have been out for over one month. That lines Boston, playing in a back-to-back ahead of the west coast trip finale in Utah, against former Celtic Dalano Banton, who scored 30 points in a start on Friday, Anfernee Simons and standout rookies Toumani Camara, a throw-in from the Damian Lillard trade, and Duop Reath, who has averaged 9.4 PPG on 36.6% three-point shooting after going undrafted in 2018 and playing overseas since. 

Utah (28-35): Signed Isaiah Thomas to a G-League contract after he last appeared in an NBA game on Apr. 10, 2022, nearly two years ago, as he makes one final push to return to the NBA after a 2017 hip injury with the Celtics and an ensuing trade to Cleveland derailed his career. Thomas poured in 32 points in his first appearance with the Salt Lake City Stars this week, where Romeo Langford also plays. 

"I'm here to show that I haven't lost a step," Thomas, now 35, said. 

The pro Jazz host the Celtics on Tuesday for the second of their two meetings this year. Lauri Markkanen (quadriceps) and Walker Kessler (foot) are out on Saturday against the Nuggets. Utah has lost 8-of-10 and ranks 15th in offense and 25th in defense. Markkanen is averaging 23.1 PPG (40.1% 3PT). Otto Porter Jr. remains away from the team after his trade from Toronto. The Celtics were reportedly interested in him at the deadline. 

Washington (10-53): Ended their 16-game losing streak with a win over the Hornets to avoid rivaling the NBA record that the Pistons tied earlier this season.