Boston Celtics Rookie Profile: Jordan Mickey

http://hoopshabit.com/2015/09/09/boston-celtics-rookie-profile-jordan-mickey/



Boston Celtics Rookie Profile: Jordan Mickey
by Eric Laboissonniere 8h ago





The Boston Celtics drafted four players in the 2015 NBA Draft and their early second-round pick could be the sleeper pick of the draft.

His name is Jordan Mickey. He had a terrific career at LSU, and he was the nation’s leading shot-blocker, averaging 3.6 blocks per game. Many people doubted Mickey after he decided to leave early for the NBA after last season because he is a little undersized to be an NBA frontcourt player, but he proved many people wrong during his stint in the NBA Summer League.


Yes, it is only Summer League, but he did show that he can still be a great rim protector, even though he is only 6-foot-8. Mickey has many aspects to his game that makes him very dangerous for next season and the future.




Mickey profile

Mickey has the potential to help the Celtics out right away next season because of his ability to protect the rim, and score from close. Mickey is very undersized to play in the frontcourt of the NBA, but he has terrific timing as a rim protector. He played against some of the NBA’s top rookies last season in college and he did just fine protecting the rim and defending players in the paint.

The Celtics are in need of a good rim protector, even though they do have Tyler Zeller and Amir Johnson, Mickey will be a great rim protector that can come off the bench.

Mickey is very good on the defensive end, but he also knows how to get it done on the offensive end. Mickey can not shoot from the outside, but he has improved on his mid-range game. Mickey is also pretty good at attacking the rim because he does have impressive speed for a power forward, and he scores most of his points in the paint.

Mickey will not be called upon much to score on the offensive end, but he will be able to grab some offensive boards, which could lead to easy buckets.


Mickey’s future outlook

Time will tell whether or not Mickey will play right away for the Celtics next season, but he does have the potential to have a long career in the NBA and for the Celtics because of his motor and strong defensive skills. He is going to give 100 percent every game, especially if he comes off the bench to add some defense down in the paint.

The Celtics do have many players in the frontcourt, but Mickey is a interesting fit for the Celtics because he adds a lot of flexibility down in the paint.

Overall, the Celtics might have struck gold by taking Mickey early in the second-round of the draft, and many teams are starting to realize that Mickey could have easily been a top 20 pick after his stint in summer league. He should be able to help out for the Celtics right away next season, but it might take some time just because the Celtics do have a lot of proven players in the froncourt.

Mickey has a long career ahead of him.



bob
MY NOTE:  I agree with him, Mickey does have a long career ahead of him.  Not surprisingly, the author isn't Joshua Bateman.  I don't know how many minutes he's going to get this year, he has a lot of 4s ahead of him on the depth chart, but I'll bet he makes his presence known in the minutes he does get.  My prediction, for what it's worth, is that Cowens and I have just found our new love.  :-) Watch the video. His block at the 1:20 mark against #15 WCS was a beauty. In fact, he was taking WCS down low with no fear at all.


.

I am still surprised he didn't go late in the first round myself, but time will tell on that.

hearing he has a high motor and good work ethic is great and should allow him to have a long NBA career as the writer says.

It will be nice if this young guy can find a way to make a significant contribution to this year's team, but he is only a rookie so we should be at least somewhat patient with him.

He certainly has lots and lots of competition for playing time on the roster. Perhaps he pushes people aside and maybe he just has to wait his turn.

Either way, it should be an interesting pre-season situation for all of us to watch.

His agility times were rock bottom at the Combine. But I believe his 3/4 court sprint time was great. I guess he might just be one of those vertical and straight forward athletes, but much less explosive laterally.

I don't think he'll get completely exploited when defending on the perimeter, but it's something I'll be keeping an eye on. Most of the PFs drafted ahead of him have very good lateral quickness, like Harrell, Portis, Nance Jr, and probably Trey Lyles, not to mention WCS.

rambone wrote:His agility times were rock bottom at the Combine. But I believe his 3/4 court sprint time was great. I guess he might just be one of those vertical and straight forward athletes, but much less explosive laterally.

I don't think he'll get completely exploited when defending on the perimeter, but it's something I'll be keeping an eye on. Most of the PFs drafted ahead of him have very good lateral quickness, like Harrell, Portis, Nance Jr, and probably Trey Lyles, not to mention WCS.

Rambone,

His lateral quickness looked just fine, on offense and defense, against WCS in that video.


bob


.