Making the most of his shot

Pavel Welsch's club still thrives, even though its most accomplished member has moved on to the NBA. But the basics Jiri Welsch first learned from his father playing for BK Holice remain evident as the 23-year-old Celtics swingman gains greater notice for his game. The emphasis European basketball places on team-oriented offense helped make Jiri Welsch an ideal fit for the passing game Boston installed this season.

Before a six-player deal with the Cavaliers disrupted the Celtics' offensive flow, Welsch and his teammates were making productive strides. Facing the Nuggets Dec. 7, Welsch pushed his career high into double figures for the first time with 19 points. The Celtics started a five-game winning streak in Denver, during which time Welsch averaged 13.2 points per game and the team averaged 112.6 ppg and 23.6 assists.

It's no coincidence that the emergence of Welsch was matched by a rise in points per game and assists from the Celtics. After earning the starting job at small forward against the Knicks Nov. 24, Welsch has been playing up to the potential scouts saw overseas. "I haven't surprised myself," said Welsch. "I always believed I could be a good player in this league and I could be a valuable player. It was just a matter of getting a real chance to play and play on a regular basis. That's what I've been given here with the Celtics. When I came here and I got to know my teammates and what the coaches were asking from the players, I felt I could be a good complement, that I had something which could help this team. I'm just happy that it was the truth."

"[My instinct for the passing game] comes from how I was raised basketball-wise and how I was taught to play basketball. I feel like here in America players are mostly taught how to create for themselves. In Europe, it's more of a team concept and players are taught how to create for each other. That's the fun [part] I think."

Director of basketball operations Danny Ainge not only saw Welsch's potential while tracking him the last couple years, he also envisioned the swingman working well in the Boston offense.

When the Celtics dealt Antoine Walker and Tony Delk to the Mavericks in exchange for Raef LaFrentz, Chris Mills, Welsch, and a 2004 first-round pick, Welsch sounded like an afterthought in public discussion of the deal. Behind the scenes, nothing was further from the truth. For Ainge, Welsch stood as a key component of the trade. If the Mavericks had not agreed to give up Welsch, it could have been a deal-breaker.

"I thought he was a guy worth seeking, so I started trying to seek him this summer," said Ainge. "I saw him initially at a workout in Phoenix, then I saw him play two exhibition games last year with Golden State, then I watched him play this summer out in the LA summer league. Every time I just thought this guy is a really good player, a tough kid. I think his toughness is probably what stood out to me more than anything. I'm not really surprised at the way he's playing right now. Usually these things take awhile, but because he plays the game right, he's just the guy we need on our team, his style is what our team needs."

In the immediate wake of the Walker deal, Ainge called Welsch an "intriguing" player who "thinks the game." When asked what kind of contributions Welsch could make, Ainge said, "I see Jiri being a starter potentially in this league and complementing players around him. Time will tell if we're right or wrong on that."

Two months after he made that statement, Ainge appears correct in his evaluation. Welsch, who is averaging 7.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game overall, has started 17 times this season and seems to grow more comfortable by the game. He has set a new career high in points four times during December.

Welsch has reached new highs while coach Jim O'Brien moves him around from small forward to shooting guard to point guard. O'Brien is still learning about the skills Welsch brings to the floor.

"I did not study Jiri [before the trade]," said O'Brien. "I knew nothing about him. I'd never watched one second of tape on the kid. I never saw him play. I frankly didn't know whether he was African-American, where he came from. I didn't know if he spoke English. I didn't know anything.

"Danny really had a tremendous feel for Jiri and we would not do the trade without him in it. And to the best of my knowledge, [the Mavericks] tried to make sure Jiri was not in it and Danny just wouldn't do it. People tend to look at that trade as Raef and Antoine, but there're so many more ingredients to that trade than that. Jiri is one of them. And to Danny's credit, he had studied Jiri for two years and just thought he was going to be a hell of a basketball player."

There was good reason O'Brien knew little about Welsch. There was not much to know, unless O'Brien somehow managed to follow Euroleague play during the NBA season. Before being drafted, Welsch was the best kind of European prospect, a talented player with an uncomplicated contract. He played three years in the Czech Republic League, then spent two years with Olimpija Ljubljana, where he won a Slovenian League title in 2002.

At the behest of Golden State general manager Garry St. Jean, the Sixers selected Welsch 16th overall in the 2002 NBA draft, then traded him to the Warriors for a pair of future draft choices. Since first-round selections are rewarded with three-year guaranteed contracts, Welsch's decision to join the NBA was easy, even though his only exposure to the United States consisted of his two pre-draft visits.

Prior to the draft process, Welsch said he thought his next career move would be to join a top Euroleague team in Spain or Italy. But even after playing just 234 minutes in 37 games his rookie season with the Warriors, Welsch believed the NBA to be the right place for him. He simply needed to find the right situation. It did not seem like it would be with Golden State. In his first year, he averaged 1.6 points per game, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists for the Warriors.

Welsch knew his minimal minutes had nothing to do with the Warriors' perception of his potential. Rookie coach Eric Musselman focused on developing young guards Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson, while relying on veterans Earl Boykins and Bobby Sura to fill the rest of the backcourt time. Welsch was the odd rookie out.

"I never thought about leaving and going back to Europe, just because I'm not the type of person who would give up a fight so easily," said Welsch, who will have a chance to show Golden State his game on the final stop of the Celtics' three-game road trip that takes them to Phoenix tonight and LA for the Lakers on Sunday. "But obviously it was frustrating. It was very hard for me from a mental standpoint. It was the first time in my career when I came to a team and I had no minutes and I was sitting on the bench, night after night after night. All I was left with was practice time."

According to former teammate Antawn Jamison, Welsch made the most of his minutes in practice.

"He was one of those guys who came in and worked hard," said Jamison, who played with Welsch at Golden State and was the big name in the trade that sent Welsch to Dallas in August. "There were times when you really felt [badly] for him because of the way he practiced and he didn't get the playing time. He thought he'd get the opportunity when he was traded to Dallas, then something else happened.

"His work ethic is probably one of the best in the league. He doesn't pout. He doesn't complain. He just goes out there and plays the game. I'm definitely happy to see him prove a lot of the critics wrong, that he is having success. He just needed playing time. He just needed time to get out there and get some game-time exposure. Every game, he's improving."

Finally, with the Celtics, Welsch has received the type of minutes he needed to make a successful transition to the NBA. He played a career-high 40 minutes against Philadelphia Dec. 21 and posted a career-high 22 points in the come-from-behind victory. His performance included a pair of clutch 3-pointers during the Celtics' big fourth-quarter run.

"Obviously, [playing in the NBA] was on the top of my wish list when I was younger, but in reality I knew that from where I was at that time [in the Czech Republic] it was such a long way to go," said Welsch. "I didn't even think I would be able to make it. Since coming to Boston, things have worked out better than I probably imagined. I didn't expect that such good things would happen for me in such a short period of time.

"My minutes have increased so much, that I don't know if I can play even more. Right now, I'm just at a certain point where I'm playing well and I'm contributing. If I can make it one step further, that would be great. My main focus would be to get consistency and bring that kind of [career-high] performance on a regular basis, bring that contribution every night. I think it's coming."