Stevens 'Curious' About Jordan Mickey After Strong Stretch In D-League
BOSTON (CBS) -- It has not exactly been easy for Brad Stevens to manage the evenly matched talent across the roster that Danny Ainge put together for the 2015-16 season. The third-year head coach has guided Boston to a respectable 18-15 record so far, but not without repeatedly mixing and matching players in different lineups through those 33 games.
Nearly everyone on the depth chart from Isaiah Thomas all the way down to rookies R.J. Hunter and Terry Rozier have been given a shot at extended playing time at some point by Stevens as he searches to find a winning formula on any given night. The one exception to that statement is second-round pick Jordan Mickey.
Tbe 6-foot-8 rookie out of LSU has appeared in just a total of six minutes during three games for Boston this year. The lack of playing time makes plenty of sense when you look at the composition of the 15-man roster. With five frontcourt players in place with starting experience and one of them (Tyler Zeller) barely seeing any minutes on a regular basis this year, it's tough to justify giving Mickey an opportunity to show what he can do at the NBA level.
Stevens expanded on the dilemma he's facing with the team's crowded frontcourt situation before Saturday's game with Brooklyn.
"I think one of the things is we've tried to give everybody -- just be conscious of that and talk about it, communicate it. Some nights are going to be their nights and some nights aren't. And it may be affected even more when we decide to go small more, as we've talked about throughout the season as well. It's just part of it. When you look at the NBA in this day and age, you've got a lot of guys on the court, especially in the fourth quarter and end of games, that are basically 1 through 3s playing those four spots."
With that small ball reality firmly in place, it's hard to ignore what the 21-year-old Mickey is doing with the Maine Red Claws as he waits for his chance on the main stage. The big man is averaging a double-double with 18.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, while also adding a whopping 4.7 blocks in each contest, a number that leads the D-League.
Mickey's ability to contribute in all facets of the game was highlighted late last week when he posted 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks in a Red Claws victory over the Texas Legends. That glimpse of potential has made Stevens watch the power forward with more of an open mind in recent weeks, while acknowledging the reality of the team's roster construction.
"I'm really curious [about him], but we do have a logjam," Stevens said Saturday. "That's the reality of our situation. And to his credit he's made the most of it by staying in a rhythm by playing up there and I think he's done a lot of good things. Some things that will really be able to translate, I think. And some things that he just needs to continue to improve upon. He's closer to ready than ever before because of his continued work."
Fellow rookie R.J. Hunter has been one of Mickey's biggest advocates since teaming up with him during summer league in both Las Vegas and Utah. Hunter played with Mickey for the first time in Maine late last week and saw the additional progress that has been made firsthand by his teammate over the past couple months.
"I've been saying since the summer that I thought Jordan was special," Hunter said. "He just plays hard. He protected me on a few blow-bys yesterday, just beating it off the glass, running the floor. Jordan's going to be special, man. It's exciting to see him in that environment too."
With the Celtics struggling with inconsistent production from their frontcourt in recent weeks, the question is how much longer will the Celtics wait before giving Mickey his chance? The team clearly has confidence in his future after handing him the biggest contract for a second-round pick in NBA history, but there are still aspects of his game (such as his outside shooting) that need plenty of work.
At this stage of the season, it will likely take an injury or two or a big trade for Mickey to get a real shot. Still, if Boston's veteran frontcourt doesn't start showing some more consistency of their own, Stevens may have nothing to lose by seeing what he has in the youngster for a few stints off the bench.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter@CelticsHub.
