Celtics Central

Sam Amick is the Sacramento Bee beat writer for the Sacramento Kings.

Sam was kind enough to give me a 15 minute phone interview regarding his perspective on the Celtics newest acquisition, newly released King forward/center, Mikki Moore.

Here is most of the transcript. Some interesting things come out about Mikki Moore. He discusses his strengths and limitations. Enjoy.

Tom: What is your overview on Mikki Moore?

Sam Amick: I’m pretty intrigued by the possibility of Mike going to Boston, because I’ve seen him as a guy who could add a lot to a play-off contender, just like he did with New Jersey. I actually think that he still has the potential to be the same kind of impact player that he was with the Nets, if he’s in the right system.

The problem with the Kings was they brought him in and he was starting, you know, and that’s not a knock on Mikki, but his reputation is what it is. He’s not considered a starting power forward.

He’s an energy guy who…doesn’t have a ton of post game, but he can hit the mid range shot and be a very good locker room and chemistry guy, an energy guy….got a lot flavor to him.

In a system like the Celtics with Rondo running things, and having so many options I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see him flourish pretty well.

Tom: So the post game is not his strong suit, but his mid range is what he’s all about?

Sam: Yeah, well…. the mid range was always there. He was always frustrated because they didn’t really want him shooting it. They had scorers out in Sacramento. That really wasn’t their problem. Honestly, they relied mostly on Mikki for kind of being the glue of what was a really bad defense. You know, he tried his best but the defense was bad with him and much worse without him.

A lot of time, Reggie Theus, the former coach was kind of going against the grain by continuing to play Mikki when it seemed like the front office didn’t want to play him anymore. They wanted to see the rookie Jason Thompson, and guys like that. But he felt like…you take Mikki out of the mix and it was going to get even uglier than it already was.

Tom: That suggestion stands up when you look at Mikki’s numbers on 82games.com. The Kings were minus 8 pts. when Mikki played and minus 10 points when he was off the court. So the Kings were actually two points better when Mikki played.

Sam: But yeah, the post game…he’s still the skinniest 7 footer I’ve ever seen. The guy just can’t gain weight, so the guy’s going to get bounced around a bit. But he’ll give it all he has and he still has that mid range game.

Tom: Defensively, how would you describe his game?

Sam: He can make up for the lack of physicality with…he’s fairly physical with his frame…but he makes up for it by being tenacious.

I’ve seen a few things written recently describing him as a shot blocker. I think that’s a reach. He’s not a shot blocker. He will alter shots.

But the combination of Mikki and Brad Miller down low was probably the worst front court, defensively, in the league this year. How much of that was Brad, I don’t know. Brad regressed after a good year last year and Mikki was making up for his mistakes a lot of the time, too.

I think he’s an average defender. But again, it goes back to the fact that if he’s your eighth or ninth guy, you don’t have to rely on him (for big minutes). If he has a bad spell, put him on the bench for 5-10 minutes and put him back in. You don’t have to rely on him for 20 minutes at a time.

Tom: Is he better on ball or as a help defender?

Sam: He’s a better help defender. That was his niche, helping this team that was a poor help defensive team. There were so many young guys that he always felt like he was making up for too many mistakes and getting exposed because of that. He’s a help guy. He’s not a lock down defender.

Tom: Seems like he’s really good guy, like a Brian Scalabrine in the locker room…

Sam: Absolutely. You know those “NBA happens” commercials? They had one that was exclusively on Mikki, just for the path that he took, to get where he’s at in the league because he’s a guy who went D-League, he was in Greece, he was all over the international game.

His personal story makes him a coach’s favorite. They know that this guy is going to appreciate everything he has, and not get too big of a head, and be a good locker room guy. So…he’s a good dude. His teammates like him quite a bit.

He talks a ton, in terms of just on the floor. The problem was, he was one of the best leaders they had, but it’s not coming from one of your core guys. Their best players haven’t really figured out how to lead, but Mikki was talking and encouraging.

With good teams, chemistry is such a fragile thing, that is one thing I look at, even if he’s not going to play his best game, he’s not going to hurt you in the locker room.

Tom: With his mid range game, and Rondo driving, it looks like he should thrive with the Celtics starters. Do you agree?

Sam: Absolutely.

If he signs, you can joke with him about… he’s been pretty humble about it…he says that he should cut Jason Kidd part of his check, because he knows that Jason set him up time and time again that year. For him, that was a monstrous year. This is a guy that scratched and clawed to stay in the league.

Just for him to come in and seeing a gigantic poster of himself on the side of what is now the Izod Center in Jersey, and just the concept of being kind of heralded as one of the really important guys to an organization. That year for him was just off the charts. I think he knows that he’s probably never going to hit that level again.

But doesn’t mean that he can’t come in and, like you said, make the most of being a bit guy on a really good team. I think it’s good spot for him.

Tom: On the second unit, his defense will probably be more important. Though undersized, Baby and Leon can guard guys that physically bigger than themselves. Baby gives Shaq, Yao Ming and Dwight Howard trouble defensively. Can Moore guard players that are physically bigger than him?

Sam: Mikki can get bounced around by some of the bigger guys you mentioned. You’re not adding a defensive specialist. He can do some things and he’s a smart defensive player. But a lot of the assets and the qualities, in whatever capacity he has, that will help this squad, will be on the offensive end, too.

He’s a good pick and roll guy. He’s kind of a poor man’s Tyson Chandler. If you can set him up, he’s a dramatic finisher.

Tom: So he’s a good finisher?

Sam: Let me qualify that. The worst part of Mikki’s game, I know he’ll take this to the grave wishing he could fix this, but he’s got really bad hands. So he’s a bad finisher, if it’s off a little bit, then you’re going to see some fumbles. But in terms of going up and getting it, he’s fun to watch in terms of dunking the ball. If he’s got a little bit of space, he’s always dramatic about it.

He can be exciting and if it’s an energy thing, than he can give you a little jolt.

Tom: So he needs a soft delivery inside?

Sam: Yeah, he was spoiled with J-Kidd. It was a little bit different out here.

That was most of it.

Final Thoughts
Mikki sounds like someone who will give you all he has, and will appreciate the opportunity to be part of championship caliber team. It was rumored that the Spurs, among others, were interested in him. But all he wanted was Boston. He is a credible pick-up for bargain dollars, which is all the Celtics have right now.

One final thought on the Kidd connection.

Rondo can deliver the ball as effectively as Kidd does. He can accurately deliver the ball at different speeds, at tough angles, with pinpoint lobs, and Rajon draws defenses to himself in the paint. If anyone can get Mikki the ball with a little room to work, Rondo can.

This helps strengthen the bench. It gives Doc Rivers one more option he can rely on with some consistency, and Moore has played very well under play-off pressure. No doubt that factored in.

Welcome to Mikki Moore, the newest Celtic.