Plenty of Upside in Downs

After his game against NY, Micah Downs is getting some ink from Greg Payne.



Plenty of upside in Downs



October, 15, 2012
Oct 15
11:00
AM ET



By Greg Payne | ESPNBoston.com









AP Photo/Jessica HillMicah

Downs battles for a rebound against the Knicks.


The box score following the Celtics' 98-95 overtime loss to the New York
Knicks on Saturday showed three players tied for a team-high seven
rebounds: Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger, and Micah Downs.


That's business as usual for Rondo and Sullinger, but Downs'
inclusion on that list was a bit more surprising. He's billed as a pure
shooter, with his jumper serving as the most lethal part of his game.
But the 26-year-old Downs knows his preseason minutes, like his looks on
offense, could be limited, so he branched out on Saturday, going after
the ball whenever the Knicks missed a shot. Playing a preseason high 14
minutes, the 6-foot-8 Downs, who's more athletic than people probably
realize, hauled in rebound after rebound, helping to secure possessions
for the C's.



"That's just something I can try to bring to the table," Downs said
of his rebounding. "If I'm out there on the court and I'm not getting my
shot, I'm not getting offensive looks, I'm going to try to go get the
ball, help our team one way or the other. Whatever I can do. My size, my
athleticism, I think I can help out at that position when Paul
[Pierce]'s not in the game or when Jeff [Green]'s not in the game, or if
we're playing smaller and I'm playing at the four, whatever. Just
trying to do everything I can to stick."



Downs wasn't shy on offense on Saturday, rifling off six shots, with
two painstaking misses that found the rim and bobbled out, including a
putback opportunity that would have given the Celtics a one-point lead
with just over 10 seconds remaining in overtime.



"It's frustrating, but I've got to stay positive, just because I was
in the right place," Downs said of the close miss. "I was making the
right play. The next one will fall. It's just the way it is sometimes."



Downs, a camp invite for Boston, finished with five points on 2-of-6
shooting, to go along with his seven rebounds. Much like the unit he
was playing with, Downs exhibited a youthful energy that certainly
factored into his activity on the glass. It would have been difficult to
not get caught up in the fourth quarter battle between the benches.
With the crowd and the veterans of each team locked in, Boston overcame a
six-point deficit to force overtime, but couldn't make it over the hump
in the extra frame.



"The atmosphere was great. You could see on the bench, all the older
guys, the vets, they were jumping up and down and rooting for us, the
crowd was getting into it," Downs said. "New York went on a nice little
run there, and their crowd got into it, and we came back and responded,
and that's just the type of thing that I think the vets and these older
guys are looking for, is us to respond, when stuff gets hard, adversity,
things like that. That's just what the coaches are looking for and what
the older guys are looking for, us to respond."



bob
My Note: That's Chris Coleman hitting the deck in front of Downs. If Downs can put Coleman on his butt with some extra effort and grit, he has my vote for player of the game. Coleman was ripping us up all night. Supposedly his strong point is shooting. If he can rebound too...Well, we'll see if it was a fluke or not. 6'8" toothpick Downs goes out and gets the job done and 6'7" Kris Joseph looks physically overmatched? Hmmm. This might be another example of why scouting Europe is better than drafting (except when a blue chip like Sully falls into your lap). The difference here might be Downs' age and pro experience bearing fruit.


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