Sullinger Advised To Study Love

That's Kevin Love.  The idea of Sully turning into a Kevin Love makes me so excited I'm starting to vibrate.



http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2013/12/jared_sullinger_of_boston_celt_3.html



Jared Sullinger of Boston Celtics advised to study Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love



Boston Celtics' Jared Sullinger (7) celebrates his 3-pointer in front of teammate Jordan Crawford (27) in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Boston, Monday, Dec. 16, 2013. The Celtics won 101-97. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
on December 17, 2013 at 1:45 AM



BOSTON – It’s fun to think about what Jared Sullinger might become.

At just 21, he’s already the best healthy player on a decent team. He has soft hands, a nice touch, and a knack for grabbing rebounds. He’s a better defender at this stage of his career than mostly anyone anticipated, and the Boston Celtics tend to perform better in just about every category when he’s on the court.

With time, assuming Sullinger remains healthy, he should only get better. The Celtics want the big man to continue losing weight and they want him to develop his 3-point shot into a weapon.

The goal: Mold Sullinger into something like Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love.

“I think a really good guy for him to study when we get into the offseason will be Love,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said before Sullinger had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help down Love’s Timberwolves, 101-97. “You talk about a guy that is an outstanding post scorer. His skill level has increased every year. His body is phenomenal. He’s completely done a 180 in his body. There’s so many positives, there’s guys you can really learn a lot from.

“Sullinger’s a guy that can score the ball. There aren’t a lot of them in the world that can score at this level, especially when they’re undersized. And he’s got a nice knack for it. Now, there’s still things he can get better at and he will get better at. But studying Love would be a good place to start.”

Sullinger did some Lovely things (get it?) in the fourth quarter Monday, notching 15 points and six rebounds in the period. The big man’s most important basket, a 3-pointer with 2:22 left, gave the Celtics a 95-92 lead they never relinquished. He added four free throws down the stretch to finish with 11 of Boston’s last 17 points, providing a final stat line of 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Though they rarely defended each other, he got the best of Love (27 points, 14 rebounds, 9-of-26 shooting).

But Love's clearly the better player. More than any other traits, two things separate him from Sullinger right now: consistency and activity. Love is a better shooter right now and he’s in condition to work for a decent shot (and/or rebound opportunity) on just about every possession.

“Obviously Kevin is considered an elite NBA player and Jared is a rising NBA player,” Stevens said. “You look up to those guys. You compete against them and you give them your best shot, but you look up to those guys, you study them and you figure out what they do to make themselves (great). I’d really like to see him spend time (studying Love).”



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