Give Mickey a run

[Tr1boy]

Another near 20 pts , double figure rebounds and 6 block shots. I think he is at the top of stats for bpg .   What a talented shot blocker. You think you have a layup and in a blink of an eye your shot is swatted.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LWVyeWIGfhY

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

today 32/13/2

[Tr1boy]

today 32/13/2

just another day at the office.   What a waste of talent down in the d league

[MJohnnyboy]

Remember this standout from the NBDL?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy6OemhtCC4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0aPhku-v_0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tqhgbSUkmM

Point as always: Development league means absolutely nothing. Jimmer is tearing it up in the d-league too. If he was as good as his d-league showings indicate, why did no one want him after the Spurs released him and why does no one want him now?

[nickagneta]

Give it a rest already. We know you love the kid but you have to accept, he just isn't good enough to crack the rotation right now. He probably isn't going to be given a good look until next year. Nothing wrong with that.

[Jvalin]

Give it a rest already. We know you love the kid but you have to accept, he just isn't good enough to crack the rotation right now. He probably isn't going to be given a good look until next year. Nothing wrong with that.

Call me crazy, but I feel he might already be our best frontcourt player! I am not talking about his potential. I mean right now!

I would love to see him in our starting 5 instead of Amir.

[nickagneta]

Give it a rest already. We know you love the kid but you have to accept, he just isn't good enough to crack the rotation right now. He probably isn't going to be given a good look until next year. Nothing wrong with that.

Call me crazy, but I feel he might already be our best frontcourt player! I am not talking about his potential. I mean right now!

I would love to see him in our starting 5 instead of Amir.

Don't be fooled by D League stats. Also, take into consideration the talent evaluating skill of Stevens and Ainge. If he was our best frontcourt player he would be starting and playing big minutes.

[Jvalin]

Don't be fooled by D League stats.

I don’t, after all it was only a few years ago when Fab Melo was posting ridiculous numbers in the D-League. I remember him having a triple double game with 14 blocks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0aPhku-v_0

With Mickey it's different. It’s not just about the numbers. The guy is a beast! Amazingly enough, he has even extended his range up to the 3 point line!

Also, take into consideration the talent evaluating skill of Stevens and Ainge. If he was our best frontcourt player he would be starting and playing big minutes.

Not so sure about that. Amir is netting 12 million a year. He is an asset. We can’t just bench him and put in a rookie to claim his place. Sully and Kelly need playing time as well. Zeller plays 8 minutes/game and he was our starting center last year! We just have far too many players.

[MJohnnyboy]

Don't be fooled by D League stats.

I don’t, after all it was only a few years ago when Fab Melo was posting ridiculous numbers in the D-League. He even recorded a triple double with 14 blocks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0aPhku-v_0

It’s not just about the numbers. The guy is a beast! He has even extended his range up to the 3 point line!

Also, take into consideration the talent evaluating skill of Stevens and Ainge. If he was our best frontcourt player he would be starting and playing big minutes.

Not so sure about that. Amir is netting 12 million a year. He is an asset. We can’t just bench him and put in a rookie to claim his place. Sully and Kelly need playing time as well. Zeller plays 8 minutes/game and he was our starting center last year! We just have far too many players.

So is that why Brad played Gerald Wallace so much last year? Because his $10 million contract was an asset?

I like Mickey but if the Celtics thought he was that good now he would play. Do they have a ton of players playing his position? Yup, but, if he was better than them, he would play, but he's not playing, so my thinking is that Brad thinks he isn't ready, and spoiler warning: I trust Brad's judgment more than anyone else's.

And hey for all we know, the kid will play soon. I'm not saying I don't like him. I'm not blind. I see great potential in him and I'm glad we got him. I see a trade coming with this team in the next few months. It has too many assets to not make a deal for someone impactful, but to use NBDL stats to prove that Mickey deserves time? That sir is a load of crap. NBDL means nothing.

[Jvalin]

So is that why Brad played Gerald Wallace so much last year? Because his $10 million contract was an asset?

What are you talking about? He was used in 32 games and his average playing time was 8.9 minutes/game.

I see a trade coming with this team in the next few months. It has too many assets to not make a deal for someone impactful

Amen to that! We desperately need a 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 trade  to clear up roster logjams.

[hwangjini_1]

He has the explosiveness, all around defense, shot blocking, underrated offensive tools to help this team.  Jerebko has made insignificant impact these days. Sullinger looks tired.

Why not sit jerebko for a game or two and give Mickey a run.

The problem is, half of Jerebko's minutes are at the 3 and Mickey can't play the 3. Jerebko has played much better at the 4. So really I would be looking for a wing to replace Jerebko's minutes at the 3.

Mickey can't play the 3? If jerebko can, so can mickey. Mickey is a better/quicker perimeter defender than any of the bigs we have.   But then you are under utilizing his ability to protect the rim

Of course he can't. He'll get torched defending good 3's, he has no handles, and can't stretch the floor. Triboy, this isn't a video game. Learning how to avoid/read/chase guys through screens on the perimeter is different than defending the post or hedging out on high pick and rolls.

I have some optimism for Mickey with regards to floor spacing.  He's working on the outside shot in the D-League, and though 'small sample size' applies, early returns have been promising. 

Having said that, I agree completely with your point.  He's not a 3.  He lacks the developed skillset to be a 3, and if we were to try to turn him into a 3, then we'd be marginalizing his most valuable NBA skill, rim protection. 

He has the potential to turn into a good big.  Let him develop into a good big.  It would be pointless to shoehorn him into a role for which he's not well-suited.

there may be a least a smidgeon of truth to this hope. so far in the dleague, our very own jordan mickey's stats are:
35 mpg
shooting % 48.7/38.5/80
11 rb/g
4.6 blks
18 pts/g

not chopped liver, but it is the dleague and stats there dont always mean nba stardom. case is point is that dleague star luke harangody. his stats read:
35 mpg
shooting % 44.7/40.4/78
12 rb/g
0.8 blks
20 pts/g

actually not all that different, are they?

what stands out for me about mickey is his shooting. in college, his 3 point shooting was 1 for 14 (is that sucky or what?) and his FT% was 67%. so maybe, possibly, could-be, might-be he has managed to learn to shoot from the outside. that would be nice.

anyone watched any dleague games with mickey lately? how does his outside shot look?

[MJohnnyboy]

So is that why Brad played Gerald Wallace so much last year? Because his $10 million contract was an asset?

What are you talking about? He was used in 32 games and his average playing time was 8.9 minutes/game.

I see a trade coming with this team in the next few months. It has too many assets to not make a deal for someone impactful

Amen to that! We desperately need a 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 trade  to clear up roster logjams.

It was a joke sonny. It's clearly the opposite. Your point was they wouldn't play Mickey over Johnson because Johnson makes $12 million and is a veteran. Wallace last year was a veteran and made $10 million, but he didn't get playing time because clearly there were guys on the team that were better than him. Brad plays the guys who are better for the team, not the ones who make more money. My point is if Mickey really is the best player in the Celtics' frontcourt, he'd play, because Brad's not dumb. What I get from the NBDL stints is that Brad clearly does not hold Mickey in the high regard that others do right now.

[Jvalin]

It was a joke sonny. It's clearly the opposite. Your point was they wouldn't play Mickey over Johnson because Johnson makes $12 million and is a veteran. Wallace last year was a veteran and made $10 million, but he didn't get playing time because clearly there were guys on the team that were better than him. Brad plays the guys who are better for the team, not the ones who make more money. My point is if Mickey really is the best player in the Celtics' frontcourt, he'd play, because Brad's not dumb. What I get from the NBDL stints is that Brad clearly does not hold Mickey in the high regard that others do right now.

My bad, I didn’t catch the sarcasm there. I am not a native speaker of the language.
Anyway, Wallace was considered dead wood from the moment he arrived in this team. Amir on the other hand is the only player in our roster (except Mickey) who can provide us some decent rim protection (not to mention the fact that he was given 12 million a year). We can’t just bench him for a rookie who had played 5 minutes over his entire professional career. All I am saying is sometimes you just have to be patient and respect the seniority. Mickey will get his chances, no doubt about that. However the fact that he is not playing right now, doesn’t necessarily mean he is a worst player than the ones who get to play.

We have Amir, Sully, Kelly, Lee and Zeller. Even Jerebko may claim some time at the #4. Unless one of those guys gets traded (or injured) it will be very difficult for Mickey to find his way into the rotation. No matter how well he plays in the D-League people will always mention that the level of competition is below average, therefore his stats and overall performance shouldn't be taken into account.

[csfansince60s]

....what stands out for me about mickey is his shooting. in college, his 3 point shooting was 1 for 14 (is that sucky or what?) and his FT% was 67%. so maybe, possibly, could-be, might-be he has managed to learn to shoot from the outside. that would be nice.

anyone watched any dleague games with mickey lately? how does his outside shot look?

This from Kevin O's article on our front page:

Mickey's shot mechanics have been overhauled, and that's the best indicator of his progress on the offensive end.

"I went back and looked at my shot and I noticed that my elbow was a lot higher than it should be, and it caused me to not have enough lift on my shot," Mickey told CelticsBlog, citing Fess Irvin as his pre-draft trainer. "Through the draft process, it was just something I worked on to try and lower my elbow so I could have more lift, and not have to strain to shoot a three or anything like that."

Mickey first flashed his improved mechanics at the NBA Pre-Draft Combine in May, but it wasn't a guarantee he'd extend his range to the three-point line. In any case, the hitch on his release was gone, and he wasn't shooting "on the way down" anymore, which were both issues at LSU.
......
Most great shooters with range sweep their legs forward, while their upper body sways back. This reduces "strain" on the shoulders, as Mickey alluded to when referencing his elbow positioning, and it increases range, since more power comes from the lower body.

Many of these mechanical changes came after arriving at training camp, where Celtics assistant coach Kenny Graves helped further Mickey's development. Playing in Maine, under the NBADL's 2014-15 Coach of the Year, Scott Morrison, has given Mickey the opportunity to implement these changes on the floor.

"He has a good approach to his opportunity for development while in Maine and is making the most of it," Red Claws head coach Scott Morrison told CelticsBlog. "He is benefitting from extra reps and our confidence in him to stretch the floor when the situation presents itself. His results have been encouraging. And we will keep trying to improve his consistency from range while he is with us."

Sounds too like the kid has a great attitude. He knows his time will come.

EDIT: I recommend the article highly as there are numerous GIFs that actually show the mechanics changes.

[Tr1boy]

....what stands out for me about mickey is his shooting. in college, his 3 point shooting was 1 for 14 (is that sucky or what?) and his FT% was 67%. so maybe, possibly, could-be, might-be he has managed to learn to shoot from the outside. that would be nice.

anyone watched any dleague games with mickey lately? how does his outside shot look?

This from Kevin O's article on our front page:

Mickey's shot mechanics have been overhauled, and that's the best indicator of his progress on the offensive end.

"I went back and looked at my shot and I noticed that my elbow was a lot higher than it should be, and it caused me to not have enough lift on my shot," Mickey told CelticsBlog, citing Fess Irvin as his pre-draft trainer. "Through the draft process, it was just something I worked on to try and lower my elbow so I could have more lift, and not have to strain to shoot a three or anything like that."

Mickey first flashed his improved mechanics at the NBA Pre-Draft Combine in May, but it wasn't a guarantee he'd extend his range to the three-point line. In any case, the hitch on his release was gone, and he wasn't shooting "on the way down" anymore, which were both issues at LSU.
......
Most great shooters with range sweep their legs forward, while their upper body sways back. This reduces "strain" on the shoulders, as Mickey alluded to when referencing his elbow positioning, and it increases range, since more power comes from the lower body.

Many of these mechanical changes came after arriving at training camp, where Celtics assistant coach Kenny Graves helped further Mickey's development. Playing in Maine, under the NBADL's 2014-15 Coach of the Year, Scott Morrison, has given Mickey the opportunity to implement these changes on the floor.

"He has a good approach to his opportunity for development while in Maine and is making the most of it," Red Claws head coach Scott Morrison told CelticsBlog. "He is benefitting from extra reps and our confidence in him to stretch the floor when the situation presents itself. His results have been encouraging. And we will keep trying to improve his consistency from range while he is with us."

Sounds too like the kid has a great attitude. He knows his time will come.

EDIT: I recommend the article highly as there are numerous GIFs that actually show the mechanics changes.

+1.