Sully Hopes to Transform Body like Kevin Love

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2013/11/jared_sullinger_hopes_he_can_t.html




Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
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on November 16, 2013 at 1:00 AM, updated November 16, 2013 at 2:33 AM



BOSTON – What would he play like without the extra layer of blubber? How much could he improve? Jared Sullinger has always said his oversized backside helps him rebound, but how much more could he accomplish on a basketball court if that rump were smaller?

At 21 years old, Sullinger already serves as the most productive Boston Celtics big man – the team’s best non-Rondo player, by my estimation, at least for the relatively small amount of time he's in the lineup. He scored a career-high 26 points with eight rebounds in Friday night’s loss to Portland, punishing the Blazers both inside and out. His feel for the game is obvious, his strong mitts on display every time he steps onto the court. He plays like the 35-year old offspring of a bull and a ballerina, clearing out just enough space for his hook shots, routinely working past taller and quicker opponents.

But what if those opponents were not so much quicker? What if Sullinger ever trims himself into elite shape? What then?

“I don’t know. That’s a good question,” said head coach Brad Stevens, “because I think he’s playing really well now. We met (Thursday) and he said he feels like he’s playing better than he played last year, and ever before.”

Sullinger’s right. He leads Celtics regulars in plus-minus with the team playing about 14 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court. Per-36 minutes, he’s averaging 21.7 points and 9.1 rebounds on 52.6 percent shooting. His true shooting percentage of 59.9 is easily above-average and his PER entering Friday (22.5) ranked him 20th in the NBA among players with at least 19 minutes per game. I needed to keep the qualifying minutes that low because prior to playing 36 against Portland, Sullinger had not managed 20 minutes per night.

Stevens has said he would like to give Sullinger a bigger role once he's in good enough shape.

“Hopefully he can continue to enhance – and I think more than anything, play more minutes,” said Stevens. “He played (36 against Portland) which is quite a bit of minutes especially off the bench. He played for long stretches; that’s probably a good sign.”

Those 36 minutes represented the second-highest single-game total of Sullinger’s brief career. He played 38 minutes against Chicago in January of 2013, right before back surgery prematurely ended his rookie season.

If we’re discussing his future, we need to discuss that surgically-repaired back. We could look at it as a plus (he says the back should be fixed forever) or a minus (having back surgery at age 20 doesn’t increase faith in someone’s body), but either way his back's status will matter in whether he ever reaches his potential.

One rival front office figure indicated last week just how much he enjoys watching Sullinger play; the same guy said he believes Sullinger would have been selected very much higher in the draft without the back issues -- which isn't a surprising stance, but a reminder the Celtics got lucky. We can assume they never would have been able to pick him at No. 21 otherwise. Looking back (no pun intended), it’s pretty remarkable he was able to earn first-team All-American status during both his freshman and sophomore years at Ohio State. Sullinger said the back issues started around the same time he arrived on campus. They forced him to walk with a limp and, when the pain became too much to bear, ultimately ended his rookie season with Boston.

The former Buckeye said he is “shocked” at how quickly he’s started to resemble his old self. Earlier this week, he pointed to some spin moves he would not have converted – or even tried – last season. Against Portland, opposing length did little to bother him. He hit hook shots over LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez. He drove past Lopez and finished with a runner off the glass. He hit several long jumpers, including two 3-pointers. Entering Friday, he had made just three in his entire career.

The coaching staff maintains confidence in Sullinger's jump shot, maybe even more than he does. He said one of his brothers needs to remind him not to shoot like somebody’s watching over his shoulder, ready to punish him for a brick.

Maybe one day he can develop into a consistent outside threat.

“I definitely worked on it in the offseason with the time I had to actually work out,” said Sullinger. “I just have to keep shooting with confidence.”

When thinking about Sullinger’s potential my mind migrates to Kevin Love – not necessarily because I believe Sullinger will one day assume that type of production, but more because what other previously-lumpy yet unquestionably-skilled power forward would I think of? Love entered the NBA with a body that formed a question mark. He beat himself up in workouts until the extra weight started to disappear, until he developed a long-distance shot. Now, averaging 27.1 points and 14.2 rebounds entering Friday, he’s probably an early-season MVP candidate.

“Probably? He definitely is,” said Sullinger. “He’s playing great basketball.”

Okay, fine. Love’s definitely an early-season MVP candidate. But does the reworking of his body serve to inspire Sullinger?

“He’s somebody you look up to,” said the Celtics youngster, “especially when everybody says he’s not the most athletic – but if you look at the dunk he had against us in Montreal, he’s very athletic. It really helped him out. That’s somebody I look up to as a basketball player and hopefully I can make that transformation just like him.”

Sullinger’s per-36 minute numbers currently match up favorably to those Love posted during his second season. But what good are 36-minute numbers if you normally play for only half that long?

“There’s a lot of shots I missed out there that I have total control over, and that’s definitely conditioning,” he said. “(I’ll be) back on the Arc Trainer before the game (Saturday in Minnesota), like always.”

The possibilities are fun to consider. But still, Sullinger’s body requires plenty of work.




bob


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bob

Willie"The Whale" Naulls (1960s) and Paul Silas (1970s) both lost significant weight before joining the Celts. Silas after triming from 240 to 210 became much more athletic. I hope Sully commits to getting into better shape.

swish