Sully

[Csfan1984]

Newest wake up call for Sully? They need him but can't play him because he is too slow and fat vs Atl.

[Hank Finkel]

I thought Sully just couldn't keep up with the pace of playoff basketball.  Playoff games are intense and Sullly has been slow and unproductive.  Its to bad because the C's need everyone playing their best in the plalyoffs.   

[crimson_stallion]

The funny thing is, I actually thought that today's game was his best of the three. Game one and two he was even worse - just embarrassing. 

My biggest problem with Sully is that he seems to be the complete opposite of what every coach wants - he seems to be a guy who thrives when it doesn't matter, and sinks in the big moments.

I've been saying it all year long - Sully has a tendency to play horribly in clutch situations.  Not just talking about missing shots here, I'm talking about forcing bad shots, committing unforced turnovers, committing really poor fouls, falling asleep on defence, etc.  Stupid mental errors that he managed to avoid for 90% of the time just seem to pop up every time he is in a high pressure situation.

Even when he has a good game overall (and he's had his fair share) he still always manages, without fail, to somehow botch things up in the last 5-6 minutes of the 4th.

I used to worry that he just chokes at the end of games, but after the way he's played in this series I'm starting to think he just chokes under any sort of pressure. 

He is the anti-Smart.  I feel like Smart is a mediocre player 80% of the time, but takes his game to new levels when it really matters.  I feel like Sully plays well 80% of the time, then crumbles completely when it really matters.

How do you justify re-signing a player who you can't afford to play in the last 5 minutes OR in any playoff games? 

The worst part of all is that, as somebody else suggested earlier, he doesn't seem to care.  When Smart, or Turner, or Crowder, or Thomas make a big mistake on the court, they get so visibly frustrated at themselves  You can tell they care.  When Sully does it he has no expression, it just seems like he doesn't care at all.  Hell, half the time you see him smiling and laughing after it.

Sully certainly is not a "Celtic" type guy.

[crimson_stallion]

P.s.

Lets stop making the excuse that Atlanta just doesn't match up with with him because of their speed.  Al Horford is NOT a quick guy these days.  Amir and Jonas today made him look like a dinosaur, and neither of those guys is exactly a supreme athlete. 

I can totally understand struggling against Millsap, but he should have no problems at all keeping up with Horford.

[jambr380]

I disagree with the notion that Sully doesn't care. I think he genuinely tried to get in better shape last summer, but just could not cut down the calories. On the court, everybody loves intense, hard-nosed players like Crowder, Smart, Bradley, and Amir, but that doesn't mean a guy like Sully doesn't care. He is fundamentally one of the best players at boxing out in the league. He is also a very solid passer and has a decent, yet unspectacular post game.

Sully may not fit what we are trying to do here under Stevens and he certainly needs to drop 40+ pounds, but I do think he cares and is frustrated by how he is playing. Unfortunately I believe he has resigned himself to the fact that he just isn't going to play well. If you recall, though, he was actually quite effective last year vs the Cavs - especially impressive since he was just returning from injury.

[crimson_stallion]

I disagree with the notion that Sully doesn't care. I think he genuinely tried to get in better shape last summer, but just could not cut down the calories.

On the court, everybody loves intense, hard-nosed players like Crowder, Smart, Bradley, and Amir, but that doesn't mean a guy like Sully doesn't care. He is fundamentally one of the best players at boxing out in the league. He is also a very solid passer and has a decent, yet unspectacular post game.

Sully may not fit what we are trying to do here under Stevens and he certainly needs to drop 40+ pounds, but I do think he cares and is frustrated by how he is playing. Unfortunately I believe he has resigned himself to the fact that he just isn't going to play well. If you recall, though, he was actually quite effective last year vs the Cavs - especially impressive since he was just returning from injury.

That bold part is just plain wrong right there. 

I'm a big guy myself, and I can assure you - you can ALWAYS cut down the calories IF you really want to.   

About 5 years ago I dropped from 130kg (around 297 lbs) to 95kg (around 209 pounds) in the space of about 8 months, and I did that purely by limiting calorie intake.  No gym or exercise regime at all.  I just limited myself to 1600 - 1800 calories per day and maintained a healthy sleeping cycle and the weight was dropping like no tomorrow.

Since that time I put all that weight back on, and I've tried numerous times to get back on the same diet.  Every time I've done so it has been effective, but I've simply not had the "staying power" to stick to it consistently.  I always allow myself to get distracted and stop tracking my intake, or else my love of food gets the better of me and I cheat too much.  I guess I just don't want it enough, or I am just too comfortable in my own skin to care enough to motivate myself again, and a career in IT (very low activity level) doesn't help.

Sully is a professional basketball player who makes millions (more then enough to get his own dietitian and personal trainer) and who's career is largely dependant on his physical conditioning.  If he truly wanted to cut down on those calories and lose those pounds, he would.  It seems pretty clear that Sully suffers from the same problems I do right now - his desire to enjoy his meals exceeds his desire to get in shape.  Either he likes his food way too much, or else he just doesn't care about basketball nearly enough.

Either way it is a problem for a guy who is in a contract year, and trying to convince some team out there that he is deserving of a $10M+ a year salary.

I don't really see signs of him caring...or at least not nearly enough to the point where he's able to motivate himself to make a change.  If neither a contact year nor a chance to earn respect in the Playoffs can motivate you, then nothing will.   

[flybono]

Bye Bye Pablo

[slamtheking]

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.

this.

also, no one on our team has looked particularly good this series. 

[LarBrd33]

I'd guess we let Sully walk at the end of the season.  He really hasn't proven much of anything.  His inability to get in shape is a problem.  There's been signs of attitude problems.  And really when you look at his stats, it's nothing to get excited about:  10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 blocks, 0.9 steals, 43%/28%/64%

He shoots a poor percentage and isn't a great defender.  He's also shown little-to-no improvement over the past 3 seasons.  He's 24 years old now.  He's a decent rebounder and plays some quality minutes, but I sincerely doubt the team sees him as a long-term solution as a starter.

I wouldn't rule out us giving him the qualifying offer, but we'll actually need to renounce him if we intend to use double-max cap space this Summer.  Just our guaranteed contracts + cap holds for our three 1st rounders alone pushes us to 41 million in salary.  That leaves about 50 mil in cap space (each max contract would be 25 mil).   That would require us to renounce Sully, Turner, Jerebko and Zeller.  Yeah, I get that it's unlikely we'll use double-max cap space.  I'm not entirely opposed to giving Sully the QO simply because he might have some trade value.    But I'm fully prepared to see us let him walk. 

[jambr380]

I disagree with the notion that Sully doesn't care. I think he genuinely tried to get in better shape last summer, but just could not cut down the calories.

On the court, everybody loves intense, hard-nosed players like Crowder, Smart, Bradley, and Amir, but that doesn't mean a guy like Sully doesn't care. He is fundamentally one of the best players at boxing out in the league. He is also a very solid passer and has a decent, yet unspectacular post game.

Sully may not fit what we are trying to do here under Stevens and he certainly needs to drop 40+ pounds, but I do think he cares and is frustrated by how he is playing. Unfortunately I believe he has resigned himself to the fact that he just isn't going to play well. If you recall, though, he was actually quite effective last year vs the Cavs - especially impressive since he was just returning from injury.

That bold part is just plain wrong right there. 

I'm a big guy myself, and I can assure you - you can ALWAYS cut down the calories IF you really want to.   

About 5 years ago I dropped from 130kg (around 297 lbs) to 95kg (around 209 pounds) in the space of about 8 months, and I did that purely by limiting calorie intake.  No gym or exercise regime at all.  I just limited myself to 1600 - 1800 calories per day and maintained a healthy sleeping cycle and the weight was dropping like no tomorrow.

Since that time I put all that weight back on, and I've tried numerous times to get back on the same diet.  Every time I've done so it has been effective, but I've simply not had the "staying power" to stick to it consistently.  I always allow myself to get distracted and stop tracking my intake, or else my love of food gets the better of me and I cheat too much.  I guess I just don't want it enough, or I am just too comfortable in my own skin to care enough to motivate myself again, and a career in IT (very low activity level) doesn't help.

Sully is a professional basketball player who makes millions (more then enough to get his own dietitian and personal trainer) and who's career is largely dependant on his physical conditioning.  If he truly wanted to cut down on those calories and lose those pounds, he would.  It seems pretty clear that Sully suffers from the same problems I do right now - his desire to enjoy his meals exceeds his desire to get in shape.  Either he likes his food way too much, or else he just doesn't care about basketball nearly enough.

Either way it is a problem for a guy who is in a contract year, and trying to convince some team out there that he is deserving of a $10M+ a year salary.

I don't really see signs of him caring...or at least not nearly enough to the point where he's able to motivate himself to make a change.  If neither a contact year nor a chance to earn respect in the Playoffs can motivate you, then nothing will.

I was just saying that I sincerely believe that Sully put in work in terms of physical conditioning, not doing everything possible to lose weight. I am really into fitness myself - run, lift, eat reasonably, and play as many sports as I can (especially bball) and I know very well how calorie intake can affect weight loss (or gain). Sully obviously can't limit his calories...and it is really unfortunate since his career is one where being in optimal shape can only benefit him. I don't quite understand the struggles that come with wanting to lose weight and not being able to; I am sure there is a lot more behind the scenes emotionally with Sully than what we see on television. That is why I do think he cares, but just can't figure it out.

[LooseCannon]

Sullinger's skill set has value, but within the Celtics system, it should be either a versatile star who can do other things well or a guy who can handle playing thirty minutes one night and ten the next.  Sullinger is not the former.  Can he handle being the latter?

[Snakehead]

He is really a step or two slow on defense.  Not impressed with that either.  My issue in the past with him was defensive effort in general, which he improved on for a lot of this year.  His offense has really slowed as well though.

[myselfonline]

Sully has a way of persuading his supporters to keep backing him. He'll have a decent to good game every now and then to show he is worth a decent contract. However, I won't bite. A good game every 10 or so games is a feat for role players like KO or Jerebko, not your starting big.
He just doesn't show the effort both on the court and off the court.
There was a play late last night where he "closed out" on his man shooting the 3 from the top of the key by WALKING towards him. I mean, Millsap blowing past him is one thing, at least you are making the effort, but to not even attempt to LOOK like you are playing defense? It's inexcusable. Especially in the playoffs.

As for his weight, people around him are to blame as well. Athletes expend a lot of energy, it's only natural for them to want to eat more. However, even if he doesn't have the self control, people around him need to help him out. He is still young, maybe he will get it together as he gets older and sees the weight catch up to him. But I doubt it will be in the next season or two. At least now at the beginning of each season when we hear the clichéd comment "He's in the best shape of his career", it might be true.

[dannyboy35]

He's fat.

[green2k16]

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.

weird that i vividly remember this dunk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9mUPBGeTZs