Picks 'n Pops: Jordan Walsh's wins, Bird off the bench, and Trae Young rolling

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because I needed something to pass the time while I was waiting for the Target self-checkout line to move.

- Jordan Walsh continues to score with the Celtics brass … and his teammates. 

First, he asked to be assigned to the Maine Celtics during a Boston Celtics off day last weekend so he could get some reps. Then he got banged up during that game and was feeling a little sore heading into the Pistons game, but he decided to play through it, which Joe Mazzulla loved: 

“When you’re a young guy and you’re banged up a little bit, it’s easy to sit out a game because you’re not expected to play all the time,” Mazzulla said. “I was telling him about Jayson and Jaylen and these guys, when they're banged up, they don’t have a choice. They have to play and they have to deliver. And I said that's the hard part, the mentality and the mindset that young guys have a hard time delivering when they're not at their best. 

“I thought it was a huge development for him to do that, to work to do that. And just comes from the environment. It comes from how the locker room holds themselves, how they hold themselves to a high standard. So I think the environment is a big piece in the development.” 

What a week for Walsh. You know he’s scored some points with the front office and the coaches for being so focused on playing and getting better. This is the kind of stuff that can separate young players. So much of who gets a chance to play and who doesn’t comes down to who the team likes and trusts to put in the work. Walsh did that. But Mazzulla says there's a more important piece to this. 

“I think another part of the development is it’s not really as much as the young guys have to earn the respect of the coach, they have to earn the respect of their teammates, especially the older ones,” Mazzulla said. “If you earn the respect of the veterans, that puts you in a better position to develop where you need to get to. And moments like that, and plays like defense, rebounding, those things, the go into developing a relationship with those guys.” 

You think Al Horford is taking someone under his wing if he doesn’t think the kid is serious about his craft? No chance. 

So for all of his dedication and wanting to play when he didn’t have twice, Jordan Walsh is having the best week ever!

I think I just stumbled onto a new feature for this thing. Everything else is getting rebooted anyway, why can't I join in the fun?

- Another way to get the respect of team veterans: Wear the sneaker one of them just created. 

Okay this one might have been a little too blatant, Jordan, but considering the other stuff, I’ll let it slide.

- Brown on his new sneakers and clothing line: 

“It’s been fun. It’s been a joy. I’ve designed everything. It’s almost like you’re getting music directly from the musician instead of the label. You’re getting it straight from the artist. I designed everything. I’ve been a part of everything. So if you guys support it, you’re supporting independence, you’re supporting creativity and ownership. So it’s been fun and I look forward to doing a lot of cool stuff: integrating science, integrating technology so kids can learn as well as be a part of a creative process.” 

This isn’t about Brown making money, though I’m sure he’d like to. Brown wants to succeed so he can be an example to young kids that there's a path to doing your own thing. 

Of course, having a ton of money to make it happen helps, but Brown is hoping that more equitable lending, along with this kind of inspiration, will lead to more success stories.

- Horford is the mild-mannered vet and strong family man, who is never one to be disrespectful in the media. But don’t ever misunderstand who he really is: he’s a killer competitor. Don’t think he’s not hazing rookies and making young guys earn their keep around the team.

- An online sportsbook gave Boston the best odds of being Ben Simmons’ next team, ignoring the fact that they cannot trade for him unless they give up Jaylen Brown and they cannot sign him this season if the gets bought out … both of which are CBA rules for second-apron teams. 

They could sign him for the veteran minimum if that's what’s he’s worth next summer, but that brings us to the next question: why the hell would they want to do that? 

After everything I’ve said and written about this team for the past two seasons, does anyone here think the Celtics want an oft-injured non-shooter with a bad attitude? 

- Speaking of bad attitudes on the move, Jimmy Butler reportedly has the Suns on his list of destinations, even though Phoenix is basically in the same boat as Boston. They can’t trade for Butler unless they give up Kevin Durant or Devin Booker. 

I don’t get why this stuff gets leaked when everyone knows it’s impossible. 

- Mazzulla needed to make the point about all of the Celtics having egos so he could make the bigger point that they're doing the hard work of keeping their egos in check. Look around the sports world for maybe 30 seconds and you’ll get punched in the mouth by out-of-control egos. Think about all the big heads out there who put themselves first. Now think of the Celtics and how none of that exists. 

This team has mental Spanx. They put on that uniform and it just holds all that other stuff in. It’s impressive. 

- Don’t worry about Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser. They both went through workouts in practice today, they both were full participants in the team’s walkthrough, and they're both traveling to Washington for the game Sunday. It’s still unclear if they’ll play, but they will be back soon. 

- Kristaps Porzingis on his conditioning: 

“I'm getting there. Honestly, I was before this, I'm always better when I'm in a rhythm of games. Now we have again, like three days off, so it's almost like it takes me one game to get back to open up my lungs a little bit more. Also, like, I was just during the summer, I was three months without really being able to go up and down, like, really, like, get some really good cardio in. That also plays a role obviously. I think a couple more games and I'll be where I need to be.”

- Boston’s bigs are doing pretty well. Luke Kornet is figuring out his sweet spot and was great last night. Neemias Queta is progressing on fixing his flaws. The Celtics just need Xavier Tillman to shoot shots and everyone might actually be playable soon. 

- Payton Pritchard and Larry Bird are the only two Celtics to ever have at least 25 points and 10 assists off the bench. Bird started 870 of 897 games in his career, so some of these Celtics bench records are fun. 

Bird fractured his face in 1982 and missed a bunch of time. With the Celtics rolling when he was healthy, Bill Fitch kept the makeshift starting rotation for 17 straight games with Bird coming off the bench. He had 31 points and 21 rebounds in one of those games, playing 45 minutes “off the bench.” He had a 42 minute games as a reserve where he dropped 24 and 14. 

Bird also came off the bench for the last three games of the 1985 season, which is why we’re all phrasing Pritchard’s night as “at least.” Bird had 29 points and 12 assists in one of those games. By the way, he had 47 points and 14 rebounds in another.

It turns out Larry was pretty good. I’m the only writer in Boston bold enough to have that take. 

- I’m no Trae Young fan, but if I had to start a team to win one game against the Knicks at MSG, he’s my starting point guard. That man LOVES sticking it to the Knicks and their fans. 

That, my friends, is disrespectful. But shout out to Jalen Brunson who said “We should win the game if we don't want him to do that." 

Couldn't say it any better myself.

- It’s mind-blowing how much content on the internet exists solely to trick people into reading/watching it. 

- YouTube TV has basically doubled in price since I first started using it. I’m paying more now for all my streaming services than I did for cable. I thought cord-cutting was supposed to be a good thing. 

The Lakers finished last season as the seventh seed, winning 57% of their games. So they fired their coach. Right now they're the eighth seed winning 54% of their games. 

I can’t wait for JJ Redick's podcast about how this season went.

- Nikola Jokic’s current averages: 32.3 points, 13.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists. 

Jeez. 

- Imagine being in a position where you can turn down someone offering you $700 million.

- This week’s Bing AI-generated image of the week: Me looking for interesting Celtics nuggets during a week where they had four days off. 

Yes, I use a backward monitor, what about it?

It’s kind of like the soap opera trick where one person turns his back on the other so they can both be facing the camera while they talk to one another. 

- Your current NBA Belt Champions: The Miami Heat

- Here’s my latest podcast, if you’re bored.