The Boston Celtics have not had a true rim protecting, two-way big man since Kevin Garnett. Enter Jordan Mickey, a rookie who currently sports a 29.33 PER, which would qualify as second-best in the NBA if he played enough minutes. Mickey has spent most of this season in the D-League, averaging 19.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 5.3 blocks. He deserves to get a legitimate shot with the Celtics.
Mickey showed a lot of potential over Summer League last year as well. Mickey is an undersized 6’8” shot-blocker with the wingspan of a 7-footer. He is able to be a skilled defender while avoiding too many fouls. His jumpshot is a work in progress, but has the makings of good form. He is a beast on the boards and projects as a Taj Gibson-type in the NBA.
In limited minutes with the Celtics this year, Mickey is averaging 20.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per 40 minutes. While this is an unrealistic projection as of now, Mickey definitely has the potential to be a double double machine on a nightly basis. However, he would really benefit from playing with a prototypical pass-first point guard, perhaps even Kris Dunn as soon as next year.
As a sophomore at LSU, Mickey led the nation in blocked shots per game (3.6), averaging 15.4 points and 9.9 rebounds. He had 12 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks against the heavily favored NC State in the second round of the 2015 NCAA tournament, showing the kind of big game chops that allowed him to be drafted 33rd overall in the 2015 draft.
Mickey needs to play at least 20 minutes a night off the bench. Not only would Mickey provide a young, active presence around the basket, but he would be able to develop his offense and defense against NBA-caliber bigs. Mickey would provide more offense than Amir Johnson and is better built to man the 4 for the Celtics than Jared Sullinger. The Celtics could go ahead and draft a young center, such as Jakob Poeltl or AJ Hammons. In any case, if and when Jordan Mickey is unleashed, the Celtics will take a major step forward as a franchise.
The post Boston Celtics: Jordan Mickey should be unleashed appeared first on isportsweb.