David Thorpe: Sullinger "Most impressive of the Summer"

[danglertx]

I've said this before in other threads but I watched every second of every game and most of them twice during the summer.  I couldn't have been happier about Sullinger.  

How he was used in the Summer League won't be how he is used in the NBA.  Nobody in the SL got him open shots.  He had to get everything on his own.  When he did get the ball he was able to get whatever he wanted to get.  He got worn down but he did play back to back to back to back games and then fly to Vegas to play every other day games with back to back games at the end.  Not even last year's condensed season had anything like that.  Then they lost three of their rotational players and were down to 9 guys.  No other player in Vegas had to go through anything like that.

Still, the guy was a beast on the boards.  He didn't get every rebound, but he fought for everything that came to his side.  It will be nice to have a worker like that on our side finally.

And the thing I was the most thrilled about, he draws fouls, and hits foul shots.  The refs even let a lot of stuff go on him.  Several times he drove across the lane with a guard hanging on his arms an no call.  With our foul shooting, getting in the bonus will be huge for us.  KG, Pierce, Bass, Terry, Lee and from the looks of it, Sullinger should all be well above average at the line.  More foul shots will be a big bonus for the team.

[Sketch5]

What Sully may do is not score a bunch of points, but get boards and assists.

Where he will really help on the offense is get the other teams bigs in foul trouble. If you seen this guy play in summer league, he uses his body well. and most of his points came from free throw shooting when he was in Vegas. No one was in foul trouble because they have 10 fouls a game, so no one really noticed it.

[cman88]

I see alot of Sullingers scoring next year coming from drawing fouls and hitting the open jumper on the pick and pop..

one thing I liked was that instead of backing up guys bigger than him he would drive straight at them, and I thought he ended up being faster than most of the centers he went up against

[MBz]

Though his pick and roll defense, help defense etc are all very important for the future, I wouldn't mind if he played a good chunk of minutes even if he struggled with those aspects.  As long as Sullinger rebounds and scores inside, he's going to be an important part of this team.  We have plenty of defensive studs on this team and we've definitely had players where we've given up offense for their defensive prowess.  Sometimes it's nice to have guys can really just toss the ball in the basket.  

[snively]

I think Love is a very poor comparison for Sully. Love is no athletic specimen but he blows Sully out of the water in the regard. Love has always been a proven shooter while Sully is a bricklayer from range.

I think best comps are Reggie Evans or Danny Fortson. Sully has VERY slow feet and will always need to play next to a long, quick type like Melo or KG to not be a complete defensive liability. BBD on the other hand has very quick feet to get around defenders and can finish at the rim creatively.

Sully cannot finish at the rim at this point. Al in his first SL was already beasting down low with creative finishes. Sully has been launching prayers this whole time.

BBIQ helps but not when you're heaving bricks or your shots are being shoved back down your throat..

Kevin Love has done great work with his body to become more mobile, but if you recall his rookie year, he was a slow, slightly chubby PF who was a defensive liability and struggled to score over NBA defenders.  His saving graces were his tremendous rebounding ability and his knack for drawing fouls.

I'm projecting him somewhere between Baby and Love.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

I've said this before in other threads but I watched every second of every game and most of them twice during the summer.  I couldn't have been happier about Sullinger. 

How he was used in the Summer League won't be how he is used in the NBA.  Nobody in the SL got him open shots.  He had to get everything on his own.  When he did get the ball he was able to get whatever he wanted to get.  He got worn down but he did play back to back to back to back games and then fly to Vegas to play every other day games with back to back games at the end.  Not even last year's condensed season had anything like that.  Then they lost three of their rotational players and were down to 9 guys.  No other player in Vegas had to go through anything like that.

Still, the guy was a beast on the boards.  He didn't get every rebound, but he fought for everything that came to his side.  It will be nice to have a worker like that on our side finally.

And the thing I was the most thrilled about, he draws fouls, and hits foul shots.  The refs even let a lot of stuff go on him.  Several times he drove across the lane with a guard hanging on his arms an no call.  With our foul shooting, getting in the bonus will be huge for us.  KG, Pierce, Bass, Terry, Lee and from the looks of it, Sullinger should all be well above average at the line.  More foul shots will be a big bonus for the team.

BINGO. He created his own shots most of the time. Now imagine "the Maestro" putting on "The Clinic" getting him open shots...especially down low? OH.MY.GOODNESS.

[ManUp]

He goes after the boards the way love does, which I absolutely love(it just happened). I think he can contribute to this team right away in that 2007-08 Leon Power type of role. All we need is for him to go hard 10 minutes a night getting after it on the boards, anything after that this year is gravy.

[j804]

Lol at the poster who said his ceiling is Reggie Evans

[Celtics4ever]

I see an unathletic guy who is buck strong and has great hands.   He can't outjump anyone.   While he is skilled and shows good basketball IQ anyone with length gave him issues.   I too watched summer league and his shooting % was horrible.   He also cannot shoot the three as of yet.   He has nice touch and good form.   I think he will improve.    A lot of those created shots were desperate jump hooks.   The kid has nice touch and some went in.   But anytime your jump hooking for guys like him a lot of it is due to the fear of getting blocked.

He is not Kevin Love.   Love is a much better rebounder and shooter.   But he could be a notch or two below him.   I think he will be better than Danny Fortson.   He is simply more skilled.   I think he can be a good rebounder but I don't think he will lead the league.   I would love being wrong about it though.

He has a nice basketball IQ and I do not think that can be taught.   He knows how to use his body to draw fouls.   Unfortunately, athletic ability is the hardest thing to improve in basketball.   A guy can learn how to play but athletes to a large extent are born and not made.   One can improve a little but not a lot.  Skills can improve so his shot does not bother me I think it will improve.   I think he was fatigued at times and had conditioning issues in Summer League.   I also think he was adjusting to NBA court and three point line, etc.

[TripleOT]

How can anyone compare a complete basketball player like Sullinger to Danny Fortson or Reggie Evans. To me,  Sully looks like a guy who has a great feel for all facets of the game, while Evans and Fortson are specialists who are good at one or two things, namely rebounding and throwing their weight around.

I expect Sully to be an efficient shooter once he gets to play with great players. Kendrick Perkins, one of the worst offensive players in the league, was able to set the Celtics' all time  field goal percentage one season as the 5th wheel. 

If Sully's clanging his way to 35% shooting, I don't expect him to get a whole lot of PT on this deep team.     

[33_Larry Legend_33]

Sullinger brings something to this team that they don't really have: a true low-post, back to the basket player who will allow them to play INSIDE-OUT type of basketball.  Sully never looked confused in the low post, and that's something I love about his game.  His reads down low will find open shooters because he understands floor spacing and where guys will be when the defense collapses on him.

The NBA is largely an "outside-in" type of game, where the guards dominate the ball and THEN drop it into the low post at the last second of play.  20 or so years ago it was the opposite: it was an "inside-out" type of game, where the ball was thrown into the low post and reads were made from big men, kicking the ball out.

Sully has that ability and is in essence a "throw back" type of player who LOVES contact on the low block and has a very, very high basketball I.Q.

Personally, I think this pick was Glen Davis with his head screwed on better.  And, Sully, though he lacks leaping ability, does something very well: he creates space to get his shot off.  If you can't jump over a guy, you have to use your butt and back to create space between your release point and the defender's shot blocking hand.  Sully does this as good as anyone I've seen for a guy that young.  Again, this is part of understanding who he is and who he is not.

(I grew up in Ohio, am an avid Buckeye's follower having lived in a suburb of Columbus in Westerville. I've followed his career very close and was ecstatic when he fell to us.  Provided his back and health holds up, this guy has potential starter written all over him, something that you don't always see at that pick in the draft).

[TripleOT]

How many NBA bigs actually shoot over opponents inside?  When you're playing against guys with 9 foot standing reaches and 30 inch verticals, you're going to have to have a release point at 12 feet to get a shot off over a defender in the proper position.

And even then, with the width of the ball, there's a good chance the defender is going to get a piece of it.  NBA players get shots off in open space.  For a big playing in the low post, that means using body positioning and technique to make space to get your shot off.  Some undersized bigs, like Leon Powe, figure out how to use their lower body and moves to either create  open space or create contact and get to the line.

Sully has the hands, feel for the game, and big backside to carve out space in the lane to find open space to get his shot off.     

[danglertx]

I love when people say Sullinger will struggle against tall athletic guys.  No kidding, everyone does.  That is why tall athletic guys are in the NBA. 

His shooting percentage was awful but he was going in against double and triple teams all the time.  He couldn't just pass it out for an open three every time or he'd never get to shoot the way Moore, Christmas, Gibson, and Smith were chucking it up there. 

He will be fine when the real games get here.  You don't have to be tall if you are wide and use your body to create space.  Sullinger is going to get some shots blocked.  Everyone does.  He has enough moves that he can still get his shot off when he is 1 v 1.  He even has a nice jump hook with either hand that rimmed out for him several times.  Those will fall and are about unblockable with good footwork. 

I'm ten times as worried about KG, Pierce and Bradley as I am about Sullinger not being able to be effective.  And I mean injurywise on them, not performance.

[JHTruth]

People keep talking about Sully's great post scoring ability, his offensive prowess and beastliness. Where in the heck is it? This is the same guy throwing up prayer jump hooks all SL. Who shot 35%. Great post scorers do not shoot 35% in the SL. I'm sorry people are just talking crazy here..

[KevinGamble]

He seems to have that unique feel for the rim and how to get the ball there -- like when Al Jefferson came on board -- though without Al's sleek/agile frame.  Love that he has great hands.
 
Maybe sort of an Al/Baby combo -- 'Big-Al-Baby'?.

TP, lol.  Funny.  He's so much taller, he has to be better than baby.  seems like his outside touch is already better, too, right?