All Sullinger needs to do is get to the line more

[TheFlex]

This is certainly up for debate, but my point was more that Sullinger has the perfect body and game to draw fouls and yet he doesn't draw that many. He needs to focus on getting to the line more and he'll find that scoring will come even easier to him.

[mgent]

He needs to do a whole lot more than that to be anywhere near an all-star.  He played terribly in every way last night other than rebounding.

[LooseCannon]

If he can recognize a cold shooting night early on in the game and try to get to the line 5-10 times

How often do you think this can happen?

Big men (players listed as PF or C by b-r.com) who averaged 5+ FTA/game last season:
Dwight Howard 9.0
DeMarcus Cousins 8.4
Blake Griffin 8.4
Kevin Love 8.4
Lebron James 7.6
Carmelo Anthony 7.0
Brook Lopez 6.8
Anthony Davis 6.6
Paul Milsap 5.3
LaMarcus Aldridge 5.2
Nene 5.0

[kozlodoev]

This is certainly up for debate, but my point was more that Sullinger has the perfect body and game to draw fouls and yet he doesn't draw that many. He needs to focus on getting to the line more and he'll find that scoring will come even easier to him.

Being relatively short, chubby, and not particularly athletic is the "perfect body to draw fouls"? Heh.

[TheFlex]

This is certainly up for debate, but my point was more that Sullinger has the perfect body and game to draw fouls and yet he doesn't draw that many. He needs to focus on getting to the line more and he'll find that scoring will come even easier to him.

Being relatively short, chubby, and not particularly athletic is the "perfect body to draw fouls"? Heh.

He's not really undersized for a PF. He's also got long arms. Yes, his width helps him in this regard because he can protect the ball and force the defender to create contact in order to challenge his shots. Paul Pierce was not particularly athletic and got to the line plenty. Craftiness and BBIQ draw fouls, not athleticism.

If he can recognize a cold shooting night early on in the game and try to get to the line 5-10 times

How often do you think this can happen?

Big men (players listed as PF or C by b-r.com) who averaged 5+ FTA/game last season:
Dwight Howard 9.0
DeMarcus Cousins 8.4
Blake Griffin 8.4
Kevin Love 8.4
Lebron James 7.6
Carmelo Anthony 7.0
Brook Lopez 6.8
Anthony Davis 6.6
Paul Milsap 5.3
LaMarcus Aldridge 5.2
Nene 5.0

We don't think Sullinger can become as good as Millsap or Nene? Yikes, Sullinger is not a fan favorite on this board.

[mgent]

This is certainly up for debate, but my point was more that Sullinger has the perfect body and game to draw fouls and yet he doesn't draw that many. He needs to focus on getting to the line more and he'll find that scoring will come even easier to him.

Being relatively short, chubby, and not particularly athletic is the "perfect body to draw fouls"? Heh.

He's not really undersized for a PF. He's also got long arms. Yes, his width helps him in this regard because he can protect the ball and force the defender to create contact in order to challenge his shots. Paul Pierce was not particularly athletic and got to the line plenty. Craftiness and BBIQ draw fouls, not athleticism.

Pierce was a lot more athletic than you're giving him credit for, especially back then at Sully's age when he was getting to the line.  He also had the best footwork in the league.

It doesn't matter how crafty you are or how high your IQ is, you get fouls by running full speed into the paint.  The smart, crafty players are actually the ones who fool the defender and are able to get shots off without contact.  Look at other slow, short, unathletic players like Al Jefferson who has all the moves in the world but only gets to the line 3 times a game.  And that's with a lot more minutes/touches than Sully.

If he can recognize a cold shooting night early on in the game and try to get to the line 5-10 times

How often do you think this can happen?

Big men (players listed as PF or C by b-r.com) who averaged 5+ FTA/game last season:
Dwight Howard 9.0
DeMarcus Cousins 8.4
Blake Griffin 8.4
Kevin Love 8.4
Lebron James 7.6
Carmelo Anthony 7.0
Brook Lopez 6.8
Anthony Davis 6.6
Paul Milsap 5.3
LaMarcus Aldridge 5.2
Nene 5.0

We don't think Sullinger can become as good as Millsap or Nene? Yikes, Sullinger is not a fan favorite on this board.

I guess this board is more reasonable and realistic than you give it credit for as well.  Sully might never reach the level of Millsap and Nene, saying he could be playing at that level right now if he just focused more on getting fouled is beyond ridiculous.

[Rondo9]

This is certainly up for debate, but my point was more that Sullinger has the perfect body and game to draw fouls and yet he doesn't draw that many. He needs to focus on getting to the line more and he'll find that scoring will come even easier to him.

Being relatively short, chubby, and not particularly athletic is the "perfect body to draw fouls"? Heh.

He's not really undersized for a PF. He's also got long arms. Yes, his width helps him in this regard because he can protect the ball and force the defender to create contact in order to challenge his shots. Paul Pierce was not particularly athletic and got to the line plenty. Craftiness and BBIQ draw fouls, not athleticism.

Pierce was a lot more athletic than you're giving him credit for, especially back then at Sully's age when he was getting to the line.  He also had the best footwork in the league.

It doesn't matter how crafty you are or how high your IQ is, you get fouls by running full speed into the paint.  The smart, crafty players are actually the ones who fool the defender and are able to get shots off without contact.  Look at other slow, short, unathletic players like Al Jefferson who has all the moves in the world but only gets to the line 3 times a game.  And that's with a lot more minutes/touches than Sully.

If he can recognize a cold shooting night early on in the game and try to get to the line 5-10 times

How often do you think this can happen?

Big men (players listed as PF or C by b-r.com) who averaged 5+ FTA/game last season:
Dwight Howard 9.0
DeMarcus Cousins 8.4
Blake Griffin 8.4
Kevin Love 8.4
Lebron James 7.6
Carmelo Anthony 7.0
Brook Lopez 6.8
Anthony Davis 6.6
Paul Milsap 5.3
LaMarcus Aldridge 5.2
Nene 5.0

We don't think Sullinger can become as good as Millsap or Nene? Yikes, Sullinger is not a fan favorite on this board.

I guess this board is more reasonable and realistic than you give it credit for as well.  Sully might never reach the level of Millsap and Nene, saying he could be playing at that level right now if he just focused more on getting fouled is beyond ridiculous.

This is the same board that can't decide if Marcus Smart is Dwayne Wade or Marcus Banks. Sullinger has the strength, moveset and surprising quickness to get to the foul line. That is the next step in his game besides developing his three point shot. He does have the potential to be an All star power forward.

[kozlodoev]

This is the same board that can't decide if Marcus Smart is Dwayne Wade or Marcus Banks. Sullinger has the strength, moveset and surprising quickness to get to the foul line. That is the next step in his game besides developing his three point shot. He does have the potential to be an All star power forward.

As it was already pointed out, you get to the foul line by being long, quick, and explosive. Sullinger is neither of these, so don't hold your breath.

[Celtics4ever]

As it was already pointed out, you get to the foul line by being long, quick, and explosive. Sullinger is neither of these, so don't hold your breath.

Bill Laimbeer shot 2916  FTs

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/laimbbi01.html

Carlos Boozer shot 3008 FTs

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/boozeca01.html

Larry Bird shot 4471  FTs

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/birdla01.html


Look like slow guys that fake do just fine, and none of these guys had the long arms or length of say a  McHale.

[Rondo9]

This is the same board that can't decide if Marcus Smart is Dwayne Wade or Marcus Banks. Sullinger has the strength, moveset and surprising quickness to get to the foul line. That is the next step in his game besides developing his three point shot. He does have the potential to be an All star power forward.

As it was already pointed out, you get to the foul line by being long, quick, and explosive. Sullinger is neither of these, so don't hold your breath.

Sullinger has good length, and he's quicer than you give him credit for. He may not be explosive, but he has other things that I explained above to make up for it.

[LooseCannon]

We don't think Sullinger can become as good as Millsap or Nene? Yikes, Sullinger is not a fan favorite on this board.

Millsap and Nene are really, really good.  A healthy Rondo, Bradley, Green, Millsap, Nene starting lineup with a decent bench would have a reasonable shot at making the NBA finals.

[Smokeeye123]

No all Sullinger has to do is stop shoving his face with Big Macs and candy bars. Seriously how hard is to lose weight/get in shape? You have enough money to have a personal trainer and a personal chef. ffs.

[GreenWarrior]

maybe we should tell him free throws are cheeseburgers.

[KGs Knee]

This is the same board that can't decide if Marcus Smart is Dwayne Wade or Marcus Banks. Sullinger has the strength, moveset and surprising quickness to get to the foul line. That is the next step in his game besides developing his three point shot. He does have the potential to be an All star power forward.

As it was already pointed out, you get to the foul line by being long, quick, and explosive. Sullinger is neither of these, so don't hold your breath.

As has been pointed out, one does not necessarily need to be long, quick and explosive to get to the foul line. That is just a lazy analysis and factually inaccurate.

Doesn't mean Sully has the skill to draw fouls, but his body type doesn't have to automatically preclude him from doing so. Craftiness can go a long way in overcoming athletic shortcomings.

That said, it sure would be nice if Sully could get himself in shape, if for nothing more than to improve his conditioning. Dude just can't sustain a high level of play for enough meaningful minutes.

[LooseCannon]

If you want Sullinger to go to the line more, he needs to work on flopping without being obvious about it.