Celtics' Jordan Mickey Plays Large

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2015/07/celtics_jordan_mickey_plays_large



Celtics' Jordan Mickey plays large
Athleticism helps PF adapt





Photo by: AP photo
ON THE RISE: Celtics rookie Jordan Mickey tries to shoot over Utah’s Brock Motum during their Summer League game Monday.

Thursday, July 9, 2015
By:  Mark Murphy


SALT LAKE CITY — From Utah’s Jack Cooley and his Joe Kleine-like bulk to Philadelphia rookie Jahlil Okafor Tuesday night, Jordan Mickey is receiving an early taste of what he can expect from NBA matchups.

The Celtics rookie is a lean 6-foot-8 power forward, and in this changing league, he needs to be ready for a broad range of challenges. In two Utah Jazz Summer League games so far, he scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting against the Jazz then scored four on 1-for-7 shooting against the 76ers, blocking three shots on both nights.

The huge paint assignments haven’t affected his ability to get to the ball.

“I guarded 7-footers, guys my height and a lot bigger,” Mickey said of his two seasons at LSU. “Post players, face-up guys, back-to-the basket guys. You have to out-work them early, try and keep them off the backboard early, get your position before they do.”

Judging from his blocks, plus a goaltended shot Monday night on which he reached directly above the cylinder, Mickey already has shown he’ll be a rarity on the parent team when training camp starts.

Danny Ainge has called him one of the best athletes in the Celtics’ cumbersome frontcourt — not backhanded praise, but not praise with a high bar, either. The team’s brass sees him as a versatile defender who, based on his work against 7-footers, can switch on his defensive assignments.

“A lot of undersized guys have had success in the NBA,” said Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, who is coaching the summer league team this week in Utah. “We’re seeing that more and more.

“You have to do what you’re good at and at a very high level. (Mickey is) able to guard pick-and-rolls, he’s able to rebound against size. If he’s able to add that perimeter game of attacking close-outs and knocking down shots, he could have a long career.”

Mickey has developed an early feel for playing off Marcus Smart, particularly on pick-and-rolls. Smart, in turn, has developed his own strong play with the ball, also hitting the open man at the basket.

“Playing with a physical guy like that, he raises the intensity for everyone on the floor,” Mickey said of Smart. “I worked with him a lot during these practices on pick-and-rolls, coming off of them, where he’ll pass the ball.”

But offense has to be more than open layups for Mickey. He’s impressed the coaching staff with his range, as much as it’s a work in progress.

“That’s something I worked on after leaving LSU, spreading the floor,” he said. “Me being 6-foot-8 and a power forward, you have to be able to score in different ways. I’m quicker than a lot of guys, so that’s something I have to use to my advantage.

He’s quicker, certainly, than all the centers and most of the power forwards he will match up against during the next two weeks in Utah and Las Vegas.

Now that Colton Iverson has left the Celtics summer league team to sign with a team in Europe, the roster is even smaller than anticipated. More than Ralph Sampson III, who was brought in as an emergency replacement for Iverson, Mickey is the main paint option of this squad.

“He’s been a very willing listener, very coachable, a very nice young man,” Larranaga said. “Coach Stevens talked to him about posting up in the NBA. It’s something you’re going to be able to do, and something you’re good at. He’s quick, he’s got long arms, he’s probably going to be more athletic than a lot of his matchups. He’s done a good job of taking advantage of it.”

It helps that Mickey is accustomed to rapid changes. They might not stop for the duration of his NBA career.

“That’s something I’m pretty good at,” he said. “At LSU, we might change up the game plan in the middle of the game, so I had to learn to adjust to whatever the coach says there and then. That helps me now. In a situation where I’m not familiar with things, I can pick things up pretty quickly.

“I’ve adjusted well. Coming from college, it’s a completely different kind of game, different rules. You have to pick up things quicker. I picked it up on the offense. The adjustments have gone pretty well.”



bob
MY NOTE: He had a tough assignment last game but he looked great in the first game. Right now, I'd say he's looking good for an invite to camp. The level of competition in summer league is just so weak it's hard to know how he'd do against camp bubble players, much less against real NBA talent and Trader Danny isn't done yet, in my opinion. Nevertheless, so far so good. Now, if only RJ Hunter started taking shots...


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