David Thorpe on Jared Sullinger

[ctrey]

I will put the link to the podcast here, it is at around the 26:00 minute mark. He basically raves about Sullinger even with the back. I know some folks here do not like Thorpe but he tends to be right more than wrong. I have yet to be sold on Melo but if Sullinger can lose about 20lbs which is easy with professional trainers he will be the second coming of Paul Millsap.

Here is the link:

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8112547

[rondohondo]

wow thorpe saying Sullinger is the best offensive player in the draft.

"Boston is really going to give Miami trouble next year"

If we can sign Mayo, a potential bench core of bradley,green and sullinger, not bad!

[LarBrd33]

nice

[Mr October]

wow, a gushing review. exciting! 

[ctrey]

I must admit I was worried at first and I am curious to see him play in the summer league however I think we have someone pretty good. I think we are looking at Paul Millsap 2.0.

[theswitch]

I must admit I was worried at first and I am curious to see him play in the summer league however I think we have someone pretty good. I think we are looking at Paul Millsap 2.0.

I'm not sure about this comparison, he's not athletic enough - remember, they started Millsap at the 3 at times in the playoffs. I really loved Roy's Boozer comparison.

[ctrey]

I must admit I was worried at first and I am curious to see him play in the summer league however I think we have someone pretty good. I think we are looking at Paul Millsap 2.0.

I'm not sure about this comparison, he's not athletic enough - remember, they started Millsap at the 3 at times in the playoffs. I really loved Roy's Boozer comparison.

I tried to cut and paste from Draftexpress but Sullinger and Millsap's numbers are very close. The only difference is that Sullinger is actually taller.

[esel1000]

love it

[BostonNative]

Ok this did 2 things for me actualy...It made me begin to like sullinger and it warmed me up into thinking brandon roy would do well here 

[theswitch]

I must admit I was worried at first and I am curious to see him play in the summer league however I think we have someone pretty good. I think we are looking at Paul Millsap 2.0.

I'm not sure about this comparison, he's not athletic enough - remember, they started Millsap at the 3 at times in the playoffs. I really loved Roy's Boozer comparison.

I tried to cut and paste from Draftexpress but Sullinger and Millsap's numbers are very close. The only difference is that Sullinger is actually taller.

I'm talking about quickness and athleticism here, not height and weight. Millsap ran a 11.67 in his lane agility test, Sullinger ran a 12.77. Millsap ran a 3.3 in the 3/4 court spring, Sullinger ran a 3.81. That's like comparing a 4.4 guy in football to a 4.9 guy (even worse, probably, considering the percentage difference). It's not really close in terms of quickness, speed and athletic ability.

PS - for the record, Sullinger had the worst lane agility score at the combine by a decent margin (12.5 was the next worst) and also the worst 3/4 court sprint at the combine (3.67 was 2nd worst). I still like the kid, but turn on the burner young man.

[bucknersrevenge]

I will put the link to the podcast here, it is at around the 26:00 minute mark. He basically raves about Sullinger even with the back. I know some folks here do not like Thorpe but he tends to be right more than wrong. I have yet to be sold on Melo but if Sullinger can lose about 20lbs which is easy with professional trainers he will be the second coming of Paul Millsap.

Here is the link:

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8112547

This is the key. All those Big Baby comparisons with Sullinger are for a reason. He needs to lose 20 lbs to take the stress off his back. And he needs to keep it off. For all the talk about Sully's offense, his defense is gonna be rough as it is even with the weight loss but if he doesn't he is gonna get exposed defensively with his lack of agility.

[SHAQATTACK]

gee..I thought I heard him say Sully had the best offensive game in the draft?  and that he was in his top three  in the draft at some point .  ANd predicts the disc will get better.

Ok.. all in.

[indeedproceed]

David Thorpe is only really useful when talking in abstracts in my experience. He puffs up guys who train with him (which I would not be surprised if Sullinger did) and he doesn't seem to be very in depth with guys he doesn't train with, until they've got a good rookie body of work (and even then he's hardly exhaustive)

Not that he might not be right, but if I dismiss Thorpe with guys he doesn't train, I should at least mention it when he does.

[oldmanspeaks]

I read an article before the draft that said sullinger had very tight hamstrings. This might be the reason he is so slow. Even when I was skinny I had the same problem. Taking some yoga classes stretched them out and my first step got 6 inches longer. A conditioning coach might give him more flexibility and hence more sprinter speed. Few guys are fast with tight muscles.

[Celtics18]

Speaking of comparisons, I've heard Sullinger say that he is inspired by the success of Kevin Love.  It's too early to start comparing him to the likes of Kevin Love, but he's certainly a good model for how to be very successful in the league as a skilled, strong, below the rim big. 

I think strength is sometimes a vastly underrated physical attribute in basketball players.  Everyone gets wowed by length and leaping ability, but being able to use your body to push guys around can be a huge advantage in basketball.  Like Love, I think Sullinger is not only very strong, but also has an underrated quickness and agility down low.