Celtics’ rookie Jordan Mickey getting a jump on NBA job

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Post by bobheckler Tue Aug 11, 2015 12:02 pm

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/08/10/celtics-rookie-jordan-mickey-getting-jump-nba-career/59OeRsdiFp1ipSZx3k1AhI/story.html



Celtics’ rookie Jordan Mickey getting a jump on NBA job

He hangs his hat on his rebounding ability.


 Celtics’ rookie Jordan Mickey getting a jump on NBA job Tumblr_mf8mf2FzZm1qm9rypo1_1280
Photo Courtesy of Redsarmy.com




By Adam Himmelsbach GLOBE STAFF  AUGUST 10, 2015




When Celtics rookie Jordan Mickey scans box scores after games, he does not check his points, because scoring is not his focus. And he does not check his blocks, because he keeps a running tally of those in his head.

He knows he has value as a rebounder and that the box score is generally honest. And after Mickey’s first two summer league games last month, the truth hurt.


He grabbed four rebounds in his debut, then added just two the next night. The low totals had come in large part against players who will not make NBA rosters this fall. Mickey’s stepfather, James Wright Sr., called him after that second game, a second Celtics loss.

“You forgot what your true assets are,” Wright said. “You have to go rebound the ball.”

It was a familiar and perhaps comforting reminder for Mickey, a reminder of how he reached this point, how he became the 33d pick in the NBA Draft.


Mickey did not start playing travel basketball until the summer before his freshman year of high school. Wright believed the best way to catch up was by excelling in areas others might have dismissed.

Mickey and Wright would study footage of the NBA’s most relentless interior players. They focused on Dennis Rodman, the eccentric forward who thrived by rebounding, defending, and being an overall nuisance.

Rodman was an elite rebounder despite being just 6 feet 7 inches and 220 pounds, and it seemed that Mickey — who is now 6-8, 235 — would develop a similar frame. Rodman was a physical menace, but it was no accident that he was consistently in the area of missed shots.

“Jordan and I would really look at how Rodman knew the trajectory of a shot,” Wright said by telephone. “He had an ability to read a shot when it’s taken, determine where a ball is going to hit the rim, and where it might go after it does.”

As a shot blocker, Mickey required less instruction. His mother was once a standout hurdler, and Mickey inherited her pogo sticks for legs. When he walked down a street as a kid, he would often jump at least part of the way. If he was standing still for too long, he’d start jumping.

Mickey noticed how players such as Amar’e Stoudemire and Dwight Howard were often most dangerous as shot blockers on their second jumps, meaning that if their first attempt was mistimed or otherwise unsuccessful, they could leap again before opportunity vanished.

So Mickey made that a focus of his training, spending hours with a jump rope and practicing his leaps in a flurry, as someone might do if they were standing on hot pavement.

“I seem to catch a few people off guard not knowing I’ll be able to get off the floor that quickly a second time,” he said. “Players think they have me off one pump fake, and then I’m able to get back off the floor before they can get their shot off. It’s something that’s tough to adjust to.”


Athleticism is apparent

Mickey’s shot-blocking and rebounding abilities helped him emerge as an elite college prospect.

Johnny Jones had become familiar with Mickey while coaching at North Texas, but he knew Mickey would not go there. Then Jones was hired at LSU, where he could offer Mickey the chance to join a prestigious program while also joining his stepbrother, James Wright Jr., who played football for the Tigers.

Mickey and Wright are so close that they refer to each other as brothers and become irritated when others call them stepbrothers.

“I still remember the first time I came home from college and he beat me in a one-on-one game,” Wright Jr. said with a chuckle. “That’s when I knew I couldn’t mess with him anymore.”

The two were reunited at LSU, but Mickey charted his own path. And as a freshman, his athleticism was instantly apparent.

“I was an assistant coach here when Chris Jackson played, and you never wanted to miss a practice then, because you knew he was going to do something special,” Jones said of the guard who once scored 55 points in a game and was selected third overall in the 1990 NBA Draft. “That’s how it felt with Jordan, too.”

Mickey joined Shaquille O’Neal as the only Tigers to register 100 blocked shots in a season, and he did it twice. As a sophomore last season, he led the nation with 3.64 blocks per game and also gathered 9.9 rebounds per contest.

Mickey was mostly slotted at power forward as a freshman and at center as a sophomore, which sometimes made it difficult to display the midrange offensive game he had developed. He did not want to disturb team chemistry, but those close to him were concerned that the limited offensive opportunities were hurting his draft stock.

Jones said some NBA teams were leery of Mickey’s shooting abilities, particularly as a potentially undersized power forward. But the coach’s response was clear: Mickey is a capable shooter, and teams that pass on him because of their uncertainty would regret it.


Coming to terms

Mickey completed two workouts for the Celtics and thought the team might take him with one of its first-round picks, No. 16 or No. 28. Ultimately, Boston selected Mickey at No. 33.

Second-round picks do not receive guaranteed deals, and the Celtics have a crowded roster, so the onus was on Mickey. After averaging three rebounds over those first two summer league games and getting the call from his stepfather, he averaged 9.5 boards over the final six games. He also averaged 12.2 points and 2.4 blocks and shot 52.6 percent from the field.

“He’s a great shot blocker when you look at his numbers for a smaller guy in height,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “But then you look at his length and his reach and he’s really, really long and gets off the floor extremely quickly.”

Mickey’s camp wanted a three-year contract with two guaranteed years, believing he would prove to be more valuable than his rookie deal. But the Celtics pressed for a four-year agreement.

“They made it obvious they wanted to sign a longer deal, and I’ve got to admit, at the beginning we just weren’t hearing that,” Wright Sr. said. “We didn’t want a four-year deal. We wanted a chance to get back to the table earlier.

“But Jordan, his mother, and I sat and talked and decided it made the most sense to just work this thing out, because this is the team he wants to play for.”

Mickey signed a four-year, $5 million contract, one of the largest ever given to a second-round pick. Now he is back home in Dallas, back at work.

His approach has not changed much since he was 14 and trying to learn his way on the AAU circuit. He has 24-hour access to the gym at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Dallas, and he is working on adding a pull-up jump shot to his arsenal.

He would like to extend his shooting range beyond the 3-point line, as stretch forwards have become tremendously valuable in today’s NBA. But he also will not stray from what helped him reach this point.

“I’ve always told him that if he can rebound and play defense, he can play for anybody,” Wright said. “We’ve pretty much held fast to that from Day One.”




bob
MY NOTE:  I cannot describe how good this article made me feel.  I'm practically giggling.  A player, much less a 2nd rounder, who models his game after The Worm?  Who recognizes it's the quickness of his second jump that is the difference maker?  Ooooh.  <shivers>  Where do I cash in my draft picks and buy him 3-4 more inches in height?  In summer league, he looked like one of the bigger players out on the floor.  That is NOT how it is going to be come October and November.  I keep reminding myself that "it's just summer league, it's just summer league" but man oh man did he do everything we could ask for or didn't he?  Mickey showed me that, while he's not a dead-eye shooter from mid-range, he does have some touch.  If he was a brickmeister there isn't much you can do about it, but if he has some touch then it's just practice.  GMs passed on the NCAA shot blocking leader and 9.9 rebs/game player because they were leery about his shooting?  Talk about short-sighted, but not our Danny.  I think this kid, RJ Sniper and maybe Rozier will make the Drafter Danny-haters take a deep breath and reassess their positions.  Ironically, I think the value of this draft will be in the exact opposite ranking of their draft position (#45 Marcus Thornton doesn't count since he is SUCH a long shot).  I think people will drool over Mickey, be wowed by Hunter's shooting and like Rozier's tenacity, defense and penetration but be left a little wanting from his floor generalship and shooting.

Easy, Bob, easy.  He still hasn't laced up an NBA sneaker yet, but having our own Worm?  I cannot wait to see this kid in pre-season. Can. Not. Wait. Kelly has modeled his game after Dirk.  What he's lacking is Dirk's confidence and aggressiveness on offense.  Maybe some of Lee and Johnson's swagger will rub off on him.  If it does, and Mickey steps up and Sully comes in at 250#...A lot of ifs, a lot of them, but our core is starting to shape up.

btw, is that a great frippin' picture of Rodman or is that not a great fripping' pic of Rodman?  LOL.



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Post by kdp59 Tue Aug 11, 2015 12:19 pm

I liked the kid in the late first round at draft time.

kinda hard to see how he get playing time on thos roster right now, someone would have to slide down to the end of the bench/NDPCD role.

Zeller?
Kelly?
Sully?
Amir?
Lee?
Jerebko?

he's got a lot of older guys in front of him this year, but if he works ahrd and keeps his head straight, there just might be minutes next season for him here.

Just sayin'
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Post by dboss Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:25 pm

While Mickey has not play a regular season game in the NBA he has already displayed some pretty impressive skills that other bigs on the team do not have such as shot blocking and running the floor. Plus he can rebound and score.

Guys like both Jerebko and Johnson have zero upside. Both are rotation level players. Both Sully and Kelly struggled as defenders and neither of them is particularly able to play in a fast pace offense.

David Lee is the only legit big man on the team but he will be on the Southside of a 10+ year career. Everyone else are just complimentary players. Yes they are solid NBA players but really nothing to see here. Sully probably is the closest to being a high impact player but he is still not there yet.

Therefore I see no reason why Mickey should have to wait until next year to get minutes. I think he probably has more basketball skills than any other big on the team.

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Post by bobheckler Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:40 pm

dboss wrote:While Mickey has not play a regular season game in the NBA he has already displayed some pretty impressive skills that other bigs on the team do not have such as shot blocking and running the floor.  Plus he can rebound and score.

Guys like both Jerebko and Johnson have zero upside.  Both are rotation level players.  Both Sully and Kelly struggled as defenders and neither of them is particularly able to play in a fast pace offense.  

David Lee is the only legit big man on the team but he will be on the Southside of a 10+ year career.  Everyone else are just complimentary players.  Yes they are solid NBA players but really nothing to see here.  Sully probably is the closest to being a high impact player but he is still not there yet.

Therefore I see no reason why Mickey should have to wait until next year to get minutes.  I think he probably has more basketball skills than any other big on the team.

dboss



dboss,

If the goal is to go as far into the playoffs as possible in order to attract high quality free agents next summer, then Mickey will sit and the others will play. If the goal is to develop youth, then he'll play. Brad, based upon what I saw in the last 1/2 of the season, wants to win. Period. Ergo...




bob


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Post by dboss Tue Aug 11, 2015 3:19 pm

bobheckler wrote:
dboss wrote:While Mickey has not play a regular season game in the NBA he has already displayed some pretty impressive skills that other bigs on the team do not have such as shot blocking and running the floor.  Plus he can rebound and score.

Guys like both Jerebko and Johnson have zero upside.  Both are rotation level players.  Both Sully and Kelly struggled as defenders and neither of them is particularly able to play in a fast pace offense.  

David Lee is the only legit big man on the team but he will be on the Southside of a 10+ year career.  Everyone else are just complimentary players.  Yes they are solid NBA players but really nothing to see here.  Sully probably is the closest to being a high impact player but he is still not there yet.

Therefore I see no reason why Mickey should have to wait until next year to get minutes.  I think he probably has more basketball skills than any other big on the team.






dboss,

If the goal is to go as far into the playoffs as possible in order to attract high quality free agents next summer, then Mickey will sit and the others will play.  If the goal is to develop youth, then he'll play.  Brad, based upon what I saw in the last 1/2 of the season, wants to win.  Period.  Ergo...




bob


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dboss

Point well taken however we have not seen guys like Lee and Johnson play on this team. Not saying they will not do well but they are new to the Celtics. Sully is coming off a very disappointing year so how does he do this year??? no one knows. Jerebko is another rotation player. The way I see it, brad will go with the best players regardless of age and/or experience.

Plus I doubt all of those players will still be on the roster for the year. There is too much redundancy at PF. Danny is not trading Mickey. If Mickey had been a top 10 player drafted we would not be talking about him getting minutes. We would probably be debating on whether he should start. Obviously Mickey was not drafted in the top 10. But may very well have top 10 talent and he is the most NBA ready of the picks we have.

Mickey has a chance to make some noise this year.

As I mentioned there are two things that he does better than any of our other bigs. He gets down the floor very fast and he can block shots. Plus he can score and rebound. We do not have another big on the team with that many skills.
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Post by kdp59 Tue Aug 11, 2015 7:00 pm

I think we should wait a bit on Mickey being a top ten talent in the NBA draft.

he may well end up being one of the top ten players to come of last years draft, but lets get the kid time to get his feet wet.

he did NOT have the baggage that would drop a guy (like Upshaw), so he was drafted at or near his expected skill level by NBA teams. though he may and I hope he does outplay his drafted stock.

as for him having more talent than any of the other bigs on this roster, that remains to be seen.
I do agree his skillset might be different than some or most of our others bigs , however.

lets not pile up such high expectations on the kid , that he will be a disappointment before getting a chance to develop is what I'm saying I suppose

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Post by dboss Wed Aug 12, 2015 9:52 am

kdp59 wrote:I think we should wait a bit on Mickey being a top ten talent in the NBA draft.

he may well end up being one of the top ten players to come of last years draft, but lets get the kid time to get his feet wet.

he did NOT have the baggage that would drop a guy (like Upshaw), so he was drafted at or near his expected skill level by NBA teams. though he may and I hope he does outplay his drafted stock.

as for him having more talent than any of the other bigs on this roster, that remains to be seen.
I do agree his skillset might be different than some or most of our others bigs , however.

lets not pile up such high expectations on the kid , that he will be a disappointment  before getting a chance to develop is what I'm saying I suppose


KDP59

I only suggested that he Might be a top 10 talent. The argument that I am making here is that he may not have to wait until next year to get on the court because he does some things that this team has been lacking. Now and then some 2nd round pick turns into a steal. I think Mickey could be that guy. Anyways I hope he is.

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Post by Sam Wed Aug 12, 2015 3:18 pm

Based on admittedly scant, but consistent, results so far, it seems that The Rodent is the type of player who could exert enough pressure from low on the depth chart to make it easier for Danny to part with Kelly and/or Sully.

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Post by dboss Wed Aug 12, 2015 4:12 pm

sam wrote:Based on admittedly scant, but consistent, results so far, it seems that The Rodent is the type of player who could exert enough pressure from low on the depth chart to make it easier for Danny to part with Kelly and/or Sully.

Sam

Sam I would add all of our other bigs to that list as well considering the way their contract have been structured

Lee -        Expiring contract
Johnson - non guaranteed team option
Jerebko - non guaranteed team option
Zeller - Qualifying Offer
Sully - Qualifying Offer
Kelly - non guaranteed Team option

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