Notebook: Sully Continues To Grow

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2013/12/notebook_jared_sullinger_continues_to_grow


Jared Sullinger went through one of the most turbulent, upsetting times of his young life last summer.

The Celtics forward had been arrested on domestic battery, charges that would ultimately be dropped, and one day his cell phone lit up with an unknown number.

The caller was his former coach, Doc Rivers, to give Sullinger another well-intentioned ration of grief.

“I was surprised,” Sullinger said before last night’s 96-88 loss to his old coach’s new team, the Clippers. “I had just got a new phone, and when I saw an unknown number and all of a sudden it was Doc, it was shocking. I was like, ‘Hey, he’s with the Clippers now but he still made an effort to make that phone call.’ ”

Sullinger has compared playing for Rivers to playing for his father and first coach, Satch. Both men don’t spare criticism. Both men push.

And last summer, Rivers felt the necessity to push.

“My message is always do right, always,” said Rivers. “He’s in the spotlight. We all are. It’s not like when we played. You could probably about do anything and nobody knew or cared. Guys really have to conduct themselves in the right way.”

That’s the other side of playing for your father — the wisdom that gets passed along. Asked if the talk with Rivers had an affect on him, Sullinger initially shook his head and said, “Not really.”

But then Sullinger reversed himself.

“Yeah, it did, because he’s been in the league a long time and he’s always been like that with me,” he said. “Anything I do wrong, anything I do right, it still isn’t good enough for Doc. It had an affect on me because he’s a guy I looked up to, and he’s a big coach in my life.

“It’s not always a good thing,” Sullinger said of playing for your father, or someone similar. “But it’s also the best thing because it brings you back into place and lets you know that you still have a lot of learning to do, a lot of work to do.

“He helped me understand that the life you live is not private.”

Rivers laughed when asked whether playing for your father can be a bad thing.

“I was hard on Sully but in a good way,” he said. “I was hard on him this summer when he got in trouble. I love him, he’s a good kid, he’s going to be a great player. You could see it last year and now you can see it.

“I’m just so happy to see his growth. I love all of my guys, bottom line, and I always have. I think that’s what you should do as a coach. Some would disagree with that, but that’s not how I’ve ever worked. You invest in them as much off the floor as on the floor, and Sully and I spent a lot of time together.”

Kneed out of lineup

The Celtics sick bay is starting to load up again.

The new patient is Kris Humphries, who bruised his left knee during Tuesday’s loss in Brooklyn. He attempted to loosen up before last night’s game, to no avail.

Kelly Olynyk missed his 10th straight game last night due to a right ankle sprain. According to Celtics coach Brad Stevens, Olynyk may make a return during Friday’s game against the Knicks.

Diagnosis on Brad

Rivers admittedly didn’t have the patience to tackle another rebuilding project. But he appears to believe that Danny Ainge found the right coach for a job that may or may not have to start from the floorboards.

“I think he’s doing a terrific job,” Rivers said of his successor. “First of all, they are rebuilding, but it’s tough to rebuild when you have good players, if you know what I mean. I know the guys I coached are good, competitive players, and man they play hard. . . . When (Rajon) Rondo comes back, that’s going to make them even more dangerous.”



bob



.

It's interesting that Kris Humphries has gone from somewhat of an afterthought to a player whose absence has impact. That and his expiring contract are why I wouldn't trade him for anything less than a solid, defensively minded center.

Sam

Has anyone else noticed that Sully seems to be wearing down playing center? The last couple of games against big, strong centers seems to me to be taking a toll on him. This is no slam on Sully. He's solid. It's just that he has to play out of position. I hope Danny can get some help soon.

Berlin

I don't see it as wearing down. He played extreemly well against Howard Duncan and Hibbert in 3 straight games.

What I do see is him getting 2 quick fouls and having to go to the bench and play the rest of the way a lot different. Even when we are able to land a "quality" center I can still see Sully getting time there depending on matchups.

And apparently we are getting our 7 footer KO back tonight too. That should help some with post minutes.

beat