Well Sully sure shut me up

[Hemingway]

Like many here, I have been down on Sully because he came to camp less than in shape. But the game against phili, he shut me up a bit. Not much compitition but they are good at the 4 and 5 and Sully played some good D. guess I got to give him another week or 2 before I get on his case again.

[PhoSita]

I was very impressed by how he played last night. 

A couple of thoughts:

1. Coming off the bench for 20-25 minutes is probably Sully's sweetspot.  Playing fewer minutes against bench guys allows him to play full energy and take advantage of his size inside, something he can't do playing longer minutes as a starter.

2. In the same vein, Sully looked good last night but it was mostly against D-League caliber defenders.  So optimism should be tempered somewhat.


I'm very interested to see how minutes change with KO eligible to play again.  I still think KO is probably a better fit playing next to Amir on the bench unit.  It's important to put as much shooting and quick passing as possible around the IT - Amir pick and roll.

[sofutomygaha]

Count me among the Sullinger haters who have to concede that he was one of our best players last night. He needs to play.

but can we all agree that any time he attempts a 3 with more than 5 seconds on the shot clock he needs to come out of the game? I can't take it.

[PhoSita]

Count me among the Sullinger haters who have to concede that he was one of our best players last night. He needs to play.

Thing is, who does he kick to the bench when KO is back?

I think KO needs to play even more given his shooting.  I want to see if he really can be more assertive and decisive this year.  If he can, the IT - KO - Amir trio could be devastating.

I like Jerebko out there, too, and I feel good about the Lee / Zeller pairing to start games and play between 20-28 minutes a game depending on how the bench bigs are doing.

[JBcat]

I was very impressed by how he played last night. 

A couple of thoughts:

1. Coming off the bench for 20-25 minutes is probably Sully's sweetspot.  Playing fewer minutes against bench guys allows him to play full energy and take advantage of his size inside, something he can't do playing longer minutes as a starter.

2. In the same vein, Sully looked good last night but it was mostly against D-League caliber defenders.  So optimism should be tempered somewhat.


I'm very interested to see how minutes change with KO eligible to play again.  I still think KO is probably a better fit playing next to Amir on the bench unit.  It's important to put as much shooting and quick passing as possible around the IT - Amir pick and roll.

With your points 1 and 2 I wonder what the breakdown of his minutes against Okofar was as it seemed like most of his minutes Sully was matched up with him, and not D league caliber guys.  He came in very early in the game to replace Zeller where I don't think Zeller played again until late in the game.  Sully also started the 2nd half, and I don't recall him playing much or at all in the 4th when we had pulled away.

Color me impressed with his performance in game 1.

[PhoSita]

I was very impressed by how he played last night. 

A couple of thoughts:

1. Coming off the bench for 20-25 minutes is probably Sully's sweetspot.  Playing fewer minutes against bench guys allows him to play full energy and take advantage of his size inside, something he can't do playing longer minutes as a starter.

2. In the same vein, Sully looked good last night but it was mostly against D-League caliber defenders.  So optimism should be tempered somewhat.


I'm very interested to see how minutes change with KO eligible to play again.  I still think KO is probably a better fit playing next to Amir on the bench unit.  It's important to put as much shooting and quick passing as possible around the IT - Amir pick and roll.

With your points 1 and 2 I wonder what the breakdown of his minutes against Okofar was as it seemed like most of his minutes Sully was matched up with him, and not D league caliber guys.  He came in very early in the game to replace Zeller where I don't think Zeller played again until late in the game.  Sully also started the 2nd half, and I don't recall him playing much or at all in the 4th when we had pulled away.

Color me impressed with his performance in game 1.

I did notice Sully playing some solid defense against Okafor, and he scored around / under Noel a couple of times, too, as I recall.

I just think Sully does better when he comes in and gives the team a different look, rather than being a core part of the game plan.  Like Thomas, he's a little bit too easy to flummox and force into his bad habits when the other team is focused on stopping him.

[Celtics18]

I was very impressed by how he played last night. 

A couple of thoughts:

1. Coming off the bench for 20-25 minutes is probably Sully's sweetspot.  Playing fewer minutes against bench guys allows him to play full energy and take advantage of his size inside, something he can't do playing longer minutes as a starter.

2. In the same vein, Sully looked good last night but it was mostly against D-League caliber defenders.  So optimism should be tempered somewhat.


I'm very interested to see how minutes change with KO eligible to play again.  I still think KO is probably a better fit playing next to Amir on the bench unit.  It's important to put as much shooting and quick passing as possible around the IT - Amir pick and roll.

I guess that at this stage of his career, Jahlil Okafor is in fact a D-League level defender.  Nerlens Noel, on the other hand, is a top level NBA defender.  Sully did some damage against him as well.

I still think it's going to be tough for him to get more than 20+ minutes a game when everyone is available to play, but he deserves credit for his performance against that highly touted young Philly front court. 

[Chief Macho]

trade him. quick.

[celtics24]

Count me among the Sullinger haters who have to concede that he was one of our best players last night. He needs to play.

Thing is, who does he kick to the bench when KO is back?

I think KO needs to play even more given his shooting.  I want to see if he really can be more assertive and decisive this year.  If he can, the IT - KO - Amir trio could be devastating.

I like Jerebko out there, too, and I feel good about the Lee / Zeller pairing to start games and play between 20-28 minutes a game depending on how the bench bigs are doing.

either lee or zeller should be getting the least mins

[slamtheking]

Like many here, I have been down on Sully because he came to camp less than in shape. But the game against phili, he shut me up a bit. Not much compitition but they are good at the 4 and 5 and Sully played some good D. guess I got to give him another week or 2 before I get on his case again.

well, I'm not one of those who ever got down on him and this game showed how well he contributes when on the floor.  if anything, he didn't shut me -- just makes me more vocal about how good he can be and unappreciated he is.

[Emmette Bryant]

I hope he never loses his big butt.

[JBcat]

I was very impressed by how he played last night. 

A couple of thoughts:

1. Coming off the bench for 20-25 minutes is probably Sully's sweetspot.  Playing fewer minutes against bench guys allows him to play full energy and take advantage of his size inside, something he can't do playing longer minutes as a starter.

2. In the same vein, Sully looked good last night but it was mostly against D-League caliber defenders.  So optimism should be tempered somewhat.


I'm very interested to see how minutes change with KO eligible to play again.  I still think KO is probably a better fit playing next to Amir on the bench unit.  It's important to put as much shooting and quick passing as possible around the IT - Amir pick and roll.

With your points 1 and 2 I wonder what the breakdown of his minutes against Okofar was as it seemed like most of his minutes Sully was matched up with him, and not D league caliber guys.  He came in very early in the game to replace Zeller where I don't think Zeller played again until late in the game.  Sully also started the 2nd half, and I don't recall him playing much or at all in the 4th when we had pulled away.

Color me impressed with his performance in game 1.

I did notice Sully playing some solid defense against Okafor, and he scored around / under Noel a couple of times, too, as I recall.

I just think Sully does better when he comes in and gives the team a different look, rather than being a core part of the game plan.  Like Thomas, he's a little bit too easy to flummox and force into his bad habits when the other team is focused on stopping him.

Good point about the game plan.  The playoffs showed us what happens when a team focuses on Thomas.

[Big333223]

I hope he never loses his big butt.

It's the source of all of his power.

[Granath]

I hope he never loses his big butt.

I think you could bet the farm on that one. 

[chambers]

Jay King Twitter 30th October
Sullinger working the Stairmaster after practice