Sullinger will finish in the top 5 in ROY voting

[cman88]

I think the whole "doc doesnt play rookies" is over-stated...doc doesnt play rookies who arent ready to contribute on an NBA level...he had no problem playing BBD in our championship run year....I could see sullinger playing a similar role/minutes next year...hes lottery pick talent and Doc seems pretty high on him

he can rebound, and thats something that will get him playing time at least.

its Fab Melo who is going to sit on the bench next year..

hes 4th on the depth chart of bigs on this team IMO...KG/Bass/Wilcox/sullinger..surely Green will get some time at the 4 as well

he will get some minutes at Center and PF..maybe 15minutes a game

[arambone]

if bass was worth monopolizing the pf minutes, we wouldnt have all been begging for a size, rebounding, and post scoring upgrade.

Sully provides all 3, and his passing, judgment, and poise are first rate.

Sully will get his minutes. Bass can get 20-25 min a game, as can green, though mostly at 3.

Wilcox is depth, and gets a great chance at a ring.

You want rebounding? You want a banger? You want post offense and opposing bigs in foul trouble?
Are you not entertained!?

Kg 30
js 25
bb 25
cw 10
jg 5 (18-20 at sf)
misc 1

[LooseCannon]

In the past two seasons, three players have finished in the top 5 in ROY voting: Kawhi Leonard, Kenneth Faried, and Gary Neal.

In the Doc Rivers era, the rookies who have averaged 20+ minutes per game with at least 30 games played are Rajon Rondo and Ryan Gomes.  Drop the threshold down to 15 mpg and you get Tony Allen, Orien Greene, and Allen Ray.  Greg Stiemsma, Semih Erden, and Glen Davis are the only rookies to average 10+ mpg in the KG era.

I could certainly see Sullinger getting 10-15 mpg.  If he gets over 20, there is a good chance that he is producing at a level that makes him a legitimate candidate for the top five in ROY voting.

[xmuscularghandix]

I don't see him finishing Top 5 in ROTY voting, but I do expect to see him playing in the rookie sophomore game and maybe making All-Rookie 2nd Team. His reputation amongst fellow rookies and even among GM's and coaches is already quite impressive for a guy whose played 0 minutes in the NBA

[bfrombleacher]

I think it would be very possible for Sully to see a lot of playing time, given he impresses well and gets off to a good start. Then again, his minutes could easily reduce if he is outplayed by Wilcox, Bass, etc. Unless we sign another big, it's very possible Sully could see the court a lot, while keeping everybody happy.

Sums it up nicely.

I would also like to point out that Sully was being double teamed and even triple teamed at some points in the summer league.

He does struggle against length but having Jamar Smith running the point allowed teams to almost completely collapse on Sully. I think he might be able to play center and might even do so successfully.

[Marqui]

There's a good chance he's going to start over Bass, so it's possible he could break top 5 in ROY voting.

[pearljammer10]

There's a good chance he's going to start over Bass, so it's possible he could break top 5 in ROY voting.

How is there even a remote chance that he starts over Bass? that makes no sense.

[JHTruth]

IDK I think Sully is quickly becoming Mr. Overrated on Celticsworld.

He really is extremely overrated here. Is everyone just ignoring his horrible athleticism? His bricking everything? Guys talk as if he is Elton Brand or Kevin Love yet he hardly dominated the SL.

Sully has almost zero chance of beating out a solid vet like Bass. I mean ZERO. Sully is trade bait..

[Celtics4ever]

While I hope your right, I too, think this is an extremely optimistic view.  He can rebound at an elite level, but his shot was vastly over hyped ( he can't shoot threes yet as promised if summer league is any indicator unless below 20% is your threshold) and clearly struggled offensively against athletic bigs with length.

[Marqui]

While I hope your right, I too, think this is an extremely optimistic view.  He can rebound at an elite level, but his shot was vastly over hyped ( he can't shoot threes yet as promised if summer league is any indicator unless below 20% is your threshold) and clearly struggled offensively against athletic bigs with length.

Since when is summer league an indicator of anything? SL indicates that Adam Morrison is an all-star. Derrick Rose struggled a lot when he played in the SL and he turned out fine.

[bfrombleacher]

While I hope your right, I too, think this is an extremely optimistic view.

IDK I think Sully is quickly becoming Mr. Overrated on Celticsworld.

He really is extremely overrated here. Is everyone just ignoring his horrible athleticism? His bricking everything? Guys talk as if he is Elton Brand or Kevin Love yet he hardly dominated the SL.

Sully has almost zero chance of beating out a solid vet like Bass. I mean ZERO. Sully is trade bait..

Right above you is an extremely pessimistic view, Celtics4ever.

No offense intended, at all, but I can see why JHTruth got got banned from current events. (S)he is quite the antagonist.

Not saying it's a bad thing. Having an opposing point of view with a strong voice is important.

[mctyson]

Not sure he'll get enough minutes to crack the top five for RoY.

If Sullinger was on a worse team where he could play 28-32 minutes a night, then yes, I think he would finish in the top five for RoY.

People are forgetting that KG will have his minutes severely cut back this year (as will Pierce for that matter.)  I am not penciling KG in for much more than 25 minutes a game.  Maybe 28, but that's it.

There are going to be a lot of open minutes at the 4/5, and we have 4 guys to fill those minutes:

Bass
Wilcox
Sullinger
Collins

I don't put Melo in here yet because he is obviously still a project.  Collins will barely ever play.  So that really leaves all of those minutes to Bass, Wilcox, and Sullinger.

Bass will get probably get 25 minutes at the 4.  Maybe Bass goes up to 30 but I doubt that.  Wilcox will not be playing more than 20.  So that leaves 23 minutes at the 4 and 28 minutes at the 5.  If you accept that KG will be well under 30 minutes a game this year, that leaves at least 20 minutes at the 4/5 for Sullinger.

Maybe we are overrating him, but his detractors on this blog are also underrating how much we actually NEED him to play this year.  We are not that deep down low.

[Neurotic Guy]

Not sure he'll get enough minutes to crack the top five for RoY.

If Sullinger was on a worse team where he could play 28-32 minutes a night, then yes, I think he would finish in the top five for RoY.

People are forgetting that KG will have his minutes severely cut back this year (as will Pierce for that matter.)  I am not penciling KG in for much more than 25 minutes a game.  Maybe 28, but that's it.

There are going to be a lot of open minutes at the 4/5, and we have 4 guys to fill those minutes:

Bass
Wilcox
Sullinger
Collins

I don't put Melo in here yet because he is obviously still a project.  Collins will barely ever play.  So that really leaves all of those minutes to Bass, Wilcox, and Sullinger.

Bass will get probably get 25 minutes at the 4.  Maybe Bass goes up to 30 but I doubt that.  Wilcox will not be playing more than 20.  So that leaves 23 minutes at the 4 and 28 minutes at the 5.  If you accept that KG will be well under 30 minutes a game this year, that leaves at least 20 minutes at the 4/5 for Sullinger.

Maybe we are overrating him, but his detractors on this blog are also underrating how much we actually NEED him to play this year.  We are not that deep down low.

I wonder if rather than reducing KG's minutes too much, they  may opt for sitting him out from time to time -- perhaps a game every week or 2.  I doubt it, but it's another option and really would provide opportunities for players to get long minutes and greater comfort within units.  When KG is playing, I think reducing him to 25 minutes is almost impossible -- given both his drive and his impact on games. 

[Lightskinsmurf]

[/quote]

I wonder if rather than reducing KG's minutes too much, they  may opt for sitting him out from time to time -- perhaps a game every week or 2.  I doubt it, but it's another option and really would provide opportunities for players to get long minutes and greater comfort within units.  When KG is playing, I think reducing him to 25 minutes is almost impossible -- given both his drive and his impact on games. 
[/quote] We need to make it possible because KG doesn't need to be playing more than 25-30mins a game in a regular season game. He is far too important to this team to risk it.

[Jon]

Not sure he'll get enough minutes to crack the top five for RoY.

If Sullinger was on a worse team where he could play 28-32 minutes a night, then yes, I think he would finish in the top five for RoY.

Pretty much this.  He has that type of talent, but I don't see him getting that many minutes. 

Bass is the incumbent starting PF and Green is going to get significant minutes there (meaning like 15 or more per game).

The effect of this is twofold:

1) There won't be many or any minutes at the 4 for Sullinger. 

2) The chances of him playing the 5 become slim, because it'd mean playing him next to Bass or Green, which makes us doubly undersized at the 4/5 positions. 

I think it's more likely we'll see the vast bulk of the 4/5 minutes eaten up by KG, Wilcox, Bass, and Green with a sprinkling of either Collins or Sullinger.  That sprinkling won't be enough to put up ROY type numbers, especially with so many players wanting shots on this team. 

The only way it happens in my book is if there are major injuries OR Sullinger flat out beats Bass.  But I can't see the team allowing the latter to happen right away if for no other reason than it would destroy Bass's trade value.