Sully

[hardlyyardley]

Was that as bad an eleven minutes as could be?

Looked like a traffic cop waving drivers down the lane

[Celtics4ever]

I have always been critical of him, but I think he has always been a solid rebounder.   Whatever is going on has even robbed him of that.   Is he hurt, has he gained weight (looks that way) and lost conditioning.   Does he lack confidence against Milsap and Horford.   This slide started in April, so probably not the latter.  It is the culmination of an NBA career riddled with bad habits like lack of conditioning, poor diet, and weight issues?  We do not know what is going on and can only speculate.

I want us to win.   I do not root against any of our players.   But the 14-2 in the third the Hawks went into when Sully was in there for 3:20 minutes was awful and it seemed like he did not care.

I thought JJ helped our energy out there and defensive tone.   We did not get swamped in the beginning of the game like previous ones.

To Sully's credit, he did not miss as many games as he has in previous years.   Prior to this year, He only played in like 70% of the games.    All that exercise helped some in that regard.  But if it is his weight, or conditioning, or attitude then we need to move on.  You protect your assets or use them to build but so far in this series, he has not been more than a body.   If he can't stay in shape during a contract year when will he?

[mctyson]

This is a really bad matchup for him.  He is built for defending post players and for posting up.  Neither of those traits are useful against Atlanta. 

Don't forget how good he has been all year long.  Matchups matter.

[kozlodoev]

Was that as bad an eleven minutes as could be?

Looked like a traffic cop waving drivers down the lane

[2short]

He hasn't progressed.  I don't expect to see him in green next year unless we completely fail in free agency/draft.

[hwangjini_1]

i have been a booster of sully for a while. but lately i have my doubts about him. if sully really applied himself and played as hard as he could, i expect his ceiling would be around 18 pts and 10 rebounds a game. borderline all star numbers, especially for where he was picked in the draft.

but that is the rub, isnt it? he has important skills, but will not apply himself in a way that smart, crowder and IT do.

i was concerned about losing sully after this year. but now, i dont worry as much. ainge can sign someone who can give similar production. the replacement player will probably never have sully's ceiling. but since sully himself doesnt seem likely to reach that ceiling, who cares?

[Drucci]

I've come to a point where I'm even fine with letting Sully walk away in free agency for nothing. I think his time in green has come to an end and that both he and the team are better off without each other.

[crownsy]

I've come to a point where I'm even fine with letting Sully walk away in free agency for nothing. I think his time in green has come to an end and that both he and the team are better off without each other.

Tp Drucci.

I'm there too. even last night, he was the only guy on the Court who you could tell just didn't have the energy to play at this level. My Wife turned to me at one point and said "is Sully hurt? he even walks slow." and I was like "no, he's just out of shape, such as a NBA player can be, and he can't keep up with this pace."

It's sad, because i think sully has talent, but at this point i'm ready to move on.

[esel1000]

i have been a booster of sully for a while. but lately i have my doubts about him. if sully really applied himself and played as hard as he could, i expect his ceiling would be around 18 pts and 10 rebounds a game. borderline all star numbers, especially for where he was picked in the draft.

but that is the rub, isnt it? he has important skills, but will not apply himself in a way that smart, crowder and IT do.

i was concerned about losing sully after this year. but now, i dont worry as much. ainge can sign someone who can give similar production. the replacement player will probably never have sully's ceiling. but since sully himself doesnt seem likely to reach that ceiling, who cares?

Pretty much my sentiments as well. I've defended Sully for awhile but I've lost patience with him. He just doesn't seem to be driven at all and he's a huge liability right now. What's even more amazing is that he's this lazy in a contract year...It's sad because if he took care of himself he'd not only be better but we'd have another great asset. His value is next to nothing now I'm sure, even if he wasn't a FA

[Vermont Green]

Sullinger is certainly an enigma.  He has ability, touch, and a high level of feel for the game for a big.  But every season, he has essentially faded to nothingness.  This season he avoided injury and missing games but as the season wore on, he just seemed to fade.  At this point, he has nothing left.

I think the core issue is still durability and sustaining for a long season.  He is 24 now so he needs to figure this out.

I would be OK with bringing him back on say a 3 year deal probably at something less than $10M but if he gets offered more than this by some team (and he probably will) Hasta Luego.

[positivitize]

He _Literally_ cannot dunk. He cannot jump high enough to dunk the ball, even standing right next to the hoop.

Let someone else pay him 12m.

[jambr380]

He _Literally_ cannot dunk. He cannot jump high enough to dunk the ball, even standing right next to the hoop.

Let someone else pay him 12m.

I think maybe if he got a running start he could throw it down, but when he is stationary , he seems plodding and only takes up space. I am not sure that he will get $12M/yr either (always thought this).

As for this game in particular, it's sad, but I thought this was his best of the three...yikes! 

[Banner18now!]

I doubt Ainge resigns him unless its for cheap. You don't waste much cap space on a player like Sully who has hit his ceiling and is not athletic enough to compete night in and night out.

[dwoumn]

He doesn't match up well defensively against Hoford nor Millsap. It's hard for Coach Stevens to play him when he's getting beat defensively. On offense, if he's not hitting his mid range or getting offensive rebounds, he isn't helpful on that end of the floor. Sully has an array of post moves but the C's hardly establish the post much in Coach Stevens offense. One of the skills Sully brings to the team, is the one thing the team doesn't take advantage of. This is one thing I've pointed out about the C's offense in comparison to the Spurs and Hawks. If you noticed when the Hawks needed a bucket in Game 3 they went right to Horford in the post, and the Spurs have been doing it for years with Duncan and now Aldridge. Sully isn't a Horford, Duncan or Aldridge but he's a big body big that uses his body and can be effective in the post.

[oldtype]

I think he's a fine player, he's just not a fit for our system and an even worse fit for this particular matchup. If we progress, I wouldn't be surprised if he did pretty well against the Cavs, for example. (That said, it's incredibly disappointing that he's not even picking up offensive rebounds against the worst defensive rebounding team in the league given that it's supposed to be his strength.)

I think some team will make him an offer that we won't match, and that will be the end of his Celtics career.