Sullinger and Olynyk duo

[Tr1boy]

Sully is still very young, but yes, he has physical limitations for his position.

I think his potential is at the Paul Milsap level. With just the right complementary, better players, he could be the number 3 on a championship, though more likely not better than a fourth-best on such a team. I'll be very interested to see what Stevens can do with JS and KO to develop them as a defensive unit this year, since that is their area of weakness as a pair.

They play like elderly vets already taking charges, directing others, being directed , communicating etc.

The issue with any elderly vet is the lack of athleticism/exceptional quickness. It will be interesting to watch

Also They are ways away from being at their peak shape. Wow cant imagine how good they could be once they get there plus experience.

[BballTim]

Sullinger will break all sorts of records for having his inside shots stuffed this season.

Is that the only thing you care about?? He was the best player of the game for the celts

He looked more mobile also which is a relief.

Sully has got to be dannys biggest steal of the draft yet

as much as i like rondo, Sullinger will prove to be the bigger steal.

Wowzers.  Really?  WHen Rondo was in his prime he was a 4 time all-star, 2 time assist leader and 1 time All-Defense 1st team.

I don't expect Sully to ever make an allstar team.  He'll be a solid player though.  Some day he could be a good player off the bench for a contender somewhere.  He reminds me of Ryan Gomes.

For me , even though its not fair to say, Rondo has never been by himself (not surrounded by future HOF) yet to prove he is one of the best/franchise calibre player.  Last year we saw a small glimpse of what "Rondos" team can do, and honestly it did avg to not so great (considering the horrible losing streak).

Sullinger imo can provide more impact on both ends of the court. He can do so many things, just think about it.
On the offensive end, he is passing, grabbing offensive rebounds, setting ridiculous picks, scoring, shooting. On the defensive end, it seems like its night and day difference when he is on and off the court. But its not even about stats, its about impact/influence.

Sullinger will likely never beat Rondo in terms of stats, triple doubles etc. Not many will.  But i predict he will be more of a impact/influence for the team

... Are you serious?











You can't be serious.



Not to harp, but there's absolutely no way you can really believe this.

Take off your rondo goggles and you may understand my points.

How many years did doc cuddle rondo?  How many years of in your ear instructions? Sullinger hasnt need any of that and forced his way into the starting lineup last year.  Sullinger rate of progression is faster at this pt.

  Doc didn't really cuddle Rondo. But in any case Rondo's been to multiple all-star games, made multiple all-defense teams, been on or close to on all-nba teams, and finished in the top 10 for multiple mvp votes. And he's just entering his prime. If you're fairly certain we'll get better than that from Sully that would be great. Somewhat unexpected, but great.

[Tr1boy]

Not sure sully will get all those things.

But imo if we can isolate, i bet with sully on the floor the team will be at a higher plus/minus vs if rondo were on the floor and no sully

[Monkhouse]

Did you guys seriously just say Sullinger could and will be better than Rondo?

I'm not trying to be a homer here... but Sullinger at best will be 4-5x Allstar.... His frame and build isn't strong enough to warrant him the same success we'll be seeing all the time. Plus our first pre-season game was against the Raptors... We also don't have any congeniality or finality on whether or not his back injury is behind him. We can believe and take in every word he speaks of. But there isn't any solid validity.

While Sullinger can and will most likely be near his prime, be averaging double doubles. I don't see him being fired up to become better than Rondo.

Rondo is once in a generation type of player... Kobe, Lebron, KG, Pierce, and a few greats like Payton, etc; have stated nothing but positive comments about him, with Kobe especially saying that this guy is a true champion. You don't get that type of respect from greats without becoming a true competitor.

Yeah sure Rondo took a few games off... I can name 5 greats who have done so too. But it isn't anything against them... Basketball is a team game, and there are times where you have to rely on the rest of your team to really succeed without your help.

Rondo is a NBA champion, 4x NBA Allstar, was 2x NBA All-Defensive first and second team.. Twice. 2X NBA Assists leader, NBA All Third Team, NBA steals leader, and was in the running for top 10 MVP twice...

All Rondo needs to do is lead the league in assists, probably twice or thrice, which I believe he can do even with this roster. Make All Defensive First or Second team once or twice, or both. And be in 2-3 Allstar games which I don't doubt Rondo will do in his career. By then I think he'll be a lock for the HoF.

Could you say the same for Sullinger?

Rondo is probably one of the biggest steals of the draft by Danny.

Not sure sully will get all those things.

But imo if we can isolate, i bet with sully on the floor the team will be at a higher plus/minus vs if rondo were on the floor and no sully

I would beg to differ on that... Plus and minus also take into account of how well you're playing defensively. Its no-brainer Sully isn't that good of a defender. He can grab offensive/defensive boards, which may translate overall better than playing solid defense. But if Rondo can feed Sully/KO and play great D while tacking on a few points. I see Rondo having a better plus imo.

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They can't just be good players, or play well together.  one of the duo needs to develop into a go-to allstar.  We need one, in any case, and everyone is trade bait unless they have that potential right now.

I'd say there is a chance that one or both gets at least one allstar nod in their career (a la Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers), but there is quite a lot to watch this year for sure, and that pair is surely one of them.

If they made Wallace look so good, could their styles of play make Jeff Green look like what we want him to be as well?

[Tr1boy]

Sully is an excellent defender. U got to look past his body. He does alot of little things you rarely see in a young player.

Rondo is in a grey area right now. Even danny is waiting to see what he can do without hofs on the team. You dont try to trade a great player like rondo in the past and not extend his contract to near max without question if he was as good as ppl say he is here

[Tr1boy]

They can't just be good players, or play well together.  one of the duo needs to develop into a go-to allstar.  We need one, in any case, and everyone is trade bait unless they have that potential right now.

I'd say there is a chance that one or both gets at least one allstar nod in their career (a la Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers), but there is quite a lot to watch this year for sure, and that pair is surely one of them.

If they made Wallace look so good, could their styles of play make Jeff Green look like what we want him to be as well?

You dont necessarily need both or one to make the all star game. Think about oakly and mason for nyn. Were they ever all stars? Or deserving all stars. But both gave u a chance to win, even without ewing out at times bc of injury

[More Banners]

They can't just be good players, or play well together.  one of the duo needs to develop into a go-to allstar.  We need one, in any case, and everyone is trade bait unless they have that potential right now.

I'd say there is a chance that one or both gets at least one allstar nod in their career (a la Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers), but there is quite a lot to watch this year for sure, and that pair is surely one of them.

If they made Wallace look so good, could their styles of play make Jeff Green look like what we want him to be as well?

You dont necessarily need both or one to make the all star game. Think about oakly and mason for nyn. Were they ever all stars? Or deserving all stars. But both gave u a chance to win, even without ewing out at times bc of injury

Our roster just lacks strength at the top.  I don't thing we get past the 2nd round with Rondo and a bunch of "solid starters."

We have depth in terms of number of solid rotation guys and even starter-level players, but we're still short at the top end.

Those two look like they have the highest ceilings of the young corps.  Their developing chemistry will be pretty awesome to see.  If we get a top-level SG and keep them, then they perhaps don't need to be stars, but it sure would help.

[Tr1boy]

They can't just be good players, or play well together.  one of the duo needs to develop into a go-to allstar.  We need one, in any case, and everyone is trade bait unless they have that potential right now.

I'd say there is a chance that one or both gets at least one allstar nod in their career (a la Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers), but there is quite a lot to watch this year for sure, and that pair is surely one of them.

If they made Wallace look so good, could their styles of play make Jeff Green look like what we want him to be as well?

You dont necessarily need both or one to make the all star game. Think about oakly and mason for nyn. Were they ever all stars? Or deserving all stars. But both gave u a chance to win, even without ewing out at times bc of injury

Our roster just lacks strength at the top.  I don't thing we get past the 2nd round with Rondo and a bunch of "solid starters."

We have depth in terms of number of solid rotation guys and even starter-level players, but we're still short at the top end.

Those two look like they have the highest ceilings of the young corps.  Their developing chemistry will be pretty awesome to see.  If we get a top-level SG and keep them, then they perhaps don't need to be stars, but it sure would help.

I agree. We need one or two deadly shooter on the team to work with these guys. Can you imagine a mouse and cat game of oly to sully to an open sharpshooter??

Nightmare to handle

[BballTim]

Not sure sully will get all those things.

But imo if we can isolate, i bet with sully on the floor the team will be at a higher plus/minus vs if rondo were on the floor and no sully

  I wouldn't be surprised if Rondo didn't have a great +/- because (as we saw last year) he plays the most minutes on the team and ends up on the court with the crappier lineups.

[Fafnir]

Not sure sully will get all those things.

But imo if we can isolate, i bet with sully on the floor the team will be at a higher plus/minus vs if rondo were on the floor and no sully

  I wouldn't be surprised if Rondo didn't have a great +/- because (as we saw last year) he plays the most minutes on the team and ends up on the court with the crappier lineups.

Here is a site that calculates adjusted +/- for nba players, it goes back quite a ways. And by adjusted it uses regressions (I believe though maybe its a different statistical method in this case) to isolate individual player performance.

http://stats-for-the-nba.appspot.com/ratings/2013.html

Rondo was having the worst year in quite some time, but was still solidly better than Sullinger. Rondo in prior years blows Sullinger away.

[BballTim]

Sully is an excellent defender. U got to look past his body. He does alot of little things you rarely see in a young player.

Rondo is in a grey area right now. Even danny is waiting to see what he can do without hofs on the team. You dont try to trade a great player like rondo in the past and not extend his contract to near max without question if he was as good as ppl say he is here

  Rondo's been playing with fringe all-stars for the last few years. Referring to them as HOFers ignores the reality of the situation, unless you somehow think that the level PP/KG played at when they were in their primes have affected the result of the games over the last few years.

[Tr1boy]

There will likely be no end to this argument.

My opinion is sully will end up being dannys biggest steal. Others think rondo. I can live with that

[Monkhouse]

There will likely be no end to this argument.

My opinion is sully will end up being dannys biggest steal. Others think rondo. I can live with that

Regardless if Sully does manage to surpass Rondo, I'm not going to be upset. I still don't think most players on the Celtics will surpass Rondo in terms of efficiency since Rondo is on the court longer, and plays the most important position. But if Sully does even manage to get past or anywhere near, I'll cry elated tears of turtle tears.

[D.o.s.]

Sullinger will break all sorts of records for having his inside shots stuffed this season.

Is that the only thing you care about?? He was the best player of the game for the celts

He looked more mobile also which is a relief.

Sully has got to be dannys biggest steal of the draft yet

as much as i like rondo, Sullinger will prove to be the bigger steal.

Wowzers.  Really?  WHen Rondo was in his prime he was a 4 time all-star, 2 time assist leader and 1 time All-Defense 1st team.

I don't expect Sully to ever make an allstar team.  He'll be a solid player though.  Some day he could be a good player off the bench for a contender somewhere.  He reminds me of Ryan Gomes.

For me , even though its not fair to say, Rondo has never been by himself (not surrounded by future HOF) yet to prove he is one of the best/franchise calibre player.  Last year we saw a small glimpse of what "Rondos" team can do, and honestly it did avg to not so great (considering the horrible losing streak).

Sullinger imo can provide more impact on both ends of the court. He can do so many things, just think about it.
On the offensive end, he is passing, grabbing offensive rebounds, setting ridiculous picks, scoring, shooting. On the defensive end, it seems like its night and day difference when he is on and off the court. But its not even about stats, its about impact/influence.

Sullinger will likely never beat Rondo in terms of stats, triple doubles etc. Not many will.  But i predict he will be more of a impact/influence for the team

... Are you serious?











You can't be serious.



Not to harp, but there's absolutely no way you can really believe this.

Take off your rondo goggles and you may understand my points.

How many years did doc cuddle rondo?  How many years of in your ear instructions? Sullinger hasnt need any of that and forced his way into the starting lineup last year.  Sullinger rate of progression is faster at this pt.

My Rondo goggles? I'm one of the more critical CB'ers when it comes to his game.

Look at it this way--there's a legitimate argument that, when he's playing at his peak, Rondo is one of, if not the, best point guards in the NBA.

Can you say the same for Sullinger? Do you really expect to say the same for Sullinger?

I'm all for optimism, but that's just crazy talk.