Just his defense huh? Good thing that's not important or anything. It would be nice if Sully showed he could play D well enough to start but I'm not expecting it.
Well the problem is that Bass himself is not a fantastic defensive player, so it's not like you're going from an elite defensive player down to a below average one - you're going from a barely average defender down to a below average one.
IMHO that drop off isn't as significant and the gain Sullinger provides with his inside scoring and his rebounding (especially offensive rebounding).
Once Bradley returns (I'm assuming will start) out starting lineup of Rondo, Bradley, Pierce and Garnett is an
elite defensive lineup...so we can afford to play a below average defender at PF becuase the rest of that starting lineup is good enough defensively to handle the load.
On the other hand, our bench (Terry, Lee, Green, Milicic) is overall somewhere between average and just above average defensively. Putting Bass into that lineup at the PF position would mean that the overall unit is solid (if not exceptional) defensively, and against opposing second units that's all we really need.
Also KG has above average athleticism and mobility for a center, so playing a less athletic big (like Sullinger) alongside him isn't a big problem - if he gets beat KG can slide over and help.
On the bench however, pairing Darko with Sullinger would lead to a front court slower then any pair with an average age of 24 years has any right to be. Any team that plays a small, athletic front court would destroy us.
Also offensively, Bass and KG are both more or less jump shooters at this point in their careers. Having both of those guys on the court at once means we have no real inside scoring presence. Pairing Sullinger and KG gives us an inside-outside attack that will be very tough to defend because Sullinger (in Doc's words) "will destroy smaller fours" while KG will force opposing fives to step out and defend his jumper. It'll be a difficult combo to defend, especially with Pierce, Bradley and Rondo also out there.
Of the bench Milicic + Bass also gives us a more ballanced lineup. Bass is very athletic enough to defend the Pick&Roll and is also deadly from midrange, while Darko can protect (and clog up) the paint, hit the boards, and get occasional inside shots and put-backs.
I just think those two lineups are most deadly because they allow us to always have a ballanced attack on the cout.
Wilcox is also big, strong, athletic and skilled enough that he can play either PF
or C for either of those two lineups.
While KG is still a elite defensive rebounder, he is a quite mediocre offensive rebouder. I think having him out there on the court with Sullinger (along with Pierce and Rondo) could give us one of the better rebounding starting lineups in the league.