The Education of Jared Sullinger

http://www.boston.com/sports/2012/11/05/jared-sullinger-nba-education-coming-slowly-but-surely-for-celtics/sh5jJWyG98clYiJ8wN2VtL/story.html







Sometimes Jared Sullinger just smiles, knowing the battle is not
worth fighting, at least not now, not until he earns his respect and
gains a reputation.





Regardless of a stellar prep career, and his time at Ohio State,
where he developed into a first-round draft pick of the Celtics,
Sullinger’s NBA status is that of a lowly first-year player.



He has picked up fouls when officials didn’t want to whistle Kevin
Garnett or Paul Pierce, he’s gotten them for merely raising his hands
and standing in the same spot, he’s drawn them simply for being a
20-year-old rookie.



Sullinger started his first NBA game Saturday night against the
Wizards at the Verizon Center, scoring 4 points with seven rebounds in
30 minutes and picking up four of the Celtics’ 12 personal fouls
in an 89-86 win. He has eight fouls in the past two games and he lived
in foul trouble during the preseason.



Sullinger is receiving the rookie treatment, but he wants to prove he
is patient and unselfish enough to accept starting over with the hope
that he will flourish eventually. Sullinger has made such an impression
on the Celtics during his first few months in Boston that he understands
he is doing something right.



Coach Doc Rivers is notoriously hard on rookies, allowing players
such as J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker to sit and then depart without much
resistance, but he saw something different in Sullinger, whom he has
watched play since Sullinger was a freshman in high school.



“I’m just unselfish and I understand I’ve got to pay my dues early,”
Sullinger said. “Kevin, Jason [Terry], Jeff [Green], and Paul are pretty
much our base scorers, so when they are in the game, you’ve got to
understand that you’re trying to get them open. You play off of them,
and that’s where I just try to rebound.”



The most encouraging sign for any Celtics rookie is to be embraced by
Garnett, who doesn’t embrace them all. There have been infamous stories
during Garnett’s five years with the Celtics of him turning on a
first-year player when the youngster dismissed his advice.



Garnett has spent considerable time working with rookie center Fab
Melo, who is likely headed for the Development League when it begins
later this month, and Sullinger, whom he chided during training camp
stretching drills for not being able to completely bend his legs. If
Garnett pays attention to him, a rookie had better capitalize on that
opportunity.



On the court, Garnett is constantly instructing his teammates where to position themselves defensively.




“Sometimes he talks too much to the point where you know you’re in
perfect position and if you mess up, it’s your fault,” Sullinger said.
“Because he talks so much. But when you have him out there defensively,
it’s a lot easier.”



Sullinger is a scorer by trade but the Celtics don’t expect that
right now, especially because first he has to learn to stay on the
court. He can’t reach while defending bigger, more experienced players
because he is going to draw the foul. He is going to have to be in
decent position to draw a charge, and even with that, rookies usually
don’t get those calls.



Sullinger received nearly every accolade a player could during his
high school and college careers, yet he has no sense of entitlement. He
is very confident, though, almost scoffing at those who doubted he could
produce in the NBA as an undersized power forward, and angered by those
who said he couldn’t handle the rigors of the NBA because he doesn’t
have a sculpted body.



Yet he has been humbled by the treatment from the officials. So he
smiles. He sometimes puts his arms over his head, trying to avoid saying
anything, and calmly walks to the side of the key to wait on the free
throws.



“I don’t know, that’s a good question,” he said when asked how he can
avoid foul issues. “I have no answer for that one. Mentally it is
[tough], but at the same time you have to keep playing basketball.”



His hard work and perseverance are being noticed. His teammates have
embraced him; they understand he is being treated differently only
because he just got here. But his knowledge of the game and ability to
contribute despite being undersized is paying dividends so far.



“I.Q.,” Garnett said when asked what Sullinger brings to the lineup.
“No offense against Jeff [Green] or [Brandon Bass], but we have
different mixes of people and he brings a different component, more
importantly rebounding. He knows how play without the ball. He’s a great
passer. He blends well with the starting group.”



Next for Sullinger is mastering the art of staying in games. It will
take time for him to learn the officials, to understand their
tendencies, and to gain their respect, but the young man is not
impatient. He understands his role with the Celtics, and that role is
ever expanding.


bob




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http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/8593434/jared-sullinger-makes-impact-first-start-boston-celtics



It took rookie Jared Sullinger a mere three games to muscle his way into the Boston Celtics' starting
lineup. While he's been far from perfect on the court -- what rookie
ever is? -- the Celtics own a perfect record with Sullinger as a
starter, and on Saturday night he showed why the team won't be afraid to
keep him in the first-unit mix this season.


Limited in floor time over his first two games while playing
opponents that favored small ball, Sullinger was thrust into the
starting five against the Washington Wizards on Saturday in the nation's capital and chipped in four points, seven
rebounds, a block and a steal over 30 minutes, 14 seconds in Boston's
89-86 triumph at the Verizon Center.





Geoff Burke/US Presswire
Jared Sullinger needs to sharpen his focus, but his play in the first quarter Saturday was encouraging.

Sullinger provided exactly what coach Doc Rivers is looking for from
him as he rebounded well, played adequate defense (particularly when
sharing the floor with Kevin Garnett) and made the most of his limited offensive touches while helping Boston pick up its first win of the season.


"[Sullinger] was great," Rivers said. "He came in, and he rebounded
the ball. That's what he does. He's another passer on the floor for us,
and he did that well, too."


Sullinger put together a brilliant first shift on Saturday, shining
at both ends of the floor. He checked out after an eight-minute stint
with Boston ahead by 12, the Celtics having allowed only five points in
that span.


A closer look at Sullinger's first-quarter exploits:


" 9:13: After he was posted up by Washington's Emeka Okafor on the right blocks, Sullinger's defense resulted in a fadeaway that kissed too strong off the glass.


" 7:31: Forced to pick up rookie shooting guard Bradley Beal in transition, Sullinger again got a hand up to force a miss on a baseline jumper.


" 6:56: Collecting the ball on the right wing, Sullinger caught two Wizards napping and drove to the hoop for an uncontested layup.


" 5:06: Sullinger chipped in a second bucket on a 12-0 burst,
this time catching a little lob in the post and splashing a rainbow
fadeaway from a step in front of the free throw line.


" 4:46: Picking up Trevor Ariza on a pick-and-roll, Sullinger got beat along the baseline but stayed
with the play. When Ariza missed the layup, Sullinger corralled the
rebound with two white jerseys nearby.


" 3:53: Sullinger stepped in front of Trevor Booker coming hard down the paint and deserved a charge call but got a rookie
whistle from veteran referee Joey Crawford. It was Sullinger's second
foul of the game, forcing him to the bench; Booker made one free throw.


Sullinger was up and down for much of the rest of the night, getting
exploited in the pick-and-roll at times in the middle quarters and
putting up just one more shot the rest of the way.


But there was more good than bad, an encouraging sign in the early stages of his NBA development.


"I thought he got tired as the game went on," Rivers said. "I think
him, and all these young guys, I think the NBA focus for the whole game
-- they don't realize [how hard it is]. He had two or three [defensive
lapses] where he just lost his focus and, bam, the guy scores.


"This is the NBA, this is not college, and that's the focus that I
think [he needs]. It's not the play, they all know how to play. They
have to learn how to have NBA focus, and I think he still has some ways
to go, but it helps when Kevin's next to him."


Rivers wasn't lying. Sullinger allowed 10 points on 11 total plays on
Saturday, according to Synergy Sports data. Only four of those points
came when Garnett was on the floor -- one fourth-quarter bucket when
Sullinger was slow to step out and defend a Jan Vesely jumper and the other when Sullinger and Courtney Lee got crossed defending a pick-and-roll and Jannero Pargo hit a final-frame jumper.






Through three games, Sullinger has allowed 24 points on 24 plays,
according to Synergy data, a bit of a cringe-worthy number (one point
per play ranks him in the 21st percentile). But rookie bigs always seem
to struggle early while acclimatizing to the NBA. Heck, last season Greg Stiemsma
had his share of woes -- particularly in the pick-and-roll -- and
finished the season as one of the team's best individual defenders.


How does Sullinger get to that point?


"Age, maturity, repetition, coach yelling -- probably all of those things," Rivers said.


Expect the Celtics to continue to look to Sullinger in a starting
role when the opposing team goes with bigger lineups. Sullinger can't
quite match up with an athletic 4 at this point -- the reason his floor
time was limited against Miami and Milwaukee -- but he can hold his own
with a legit big.


And there's a definite benefit for Boston to having Brandon Bass
come off the bench. With Sullinger more of a facilitator than a scorer,
he doesn't need shots or plays run for him. That gives the likes of Paul Pierce
and Garnett more touches and can get them going early. Meanwhile, Bass
gets more shots with the second unit and adds some much-needed pop to
the reserve crew.


Rivers still wants to see Sullinger compete with a better motor and
sharper focus. But, at least for the moment, the Celtics' most
successful starting lineup combination includes Sullinger.




bob




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