Sullinger's Expanding Repertoire Is Impressing

by **bobheckler** Sat Mar 29, 2014 3:02 pm

Jared Sullinger entered Friday night having scored 51 points and with 28 rebounds in two games against the Raptors, including a 19-point fourth quarter in Boston’s 99-90 loss Wednesday at TD Garden. His performances caught the attention of Toronto coach Dwane Casey.

Sullinger struggled from the field Friday, with 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting, but finished with nine rebounds.

“He is a handful down in the paint,” said Casey, “He is in great shape. He stepped out on the floor now, shooting threes. So really he’s causing problems from inside and out. So that’s something that we have to be prepared for. They put in a couple of new sets for him the other night that caught us by surprise a little bit.

“So it’s up to [Jonas Valanciunas and Chuck Hayes] to stay connected with him and chase him like he’s a small guy because he’s running off pin-downs and off screens like [Avery] Bradley. Against us, his eyes light up.”

Stevens wants consistency from Sullinger but said sparkling games followed by substandard games is a byproduct of inexperience.

“For a really good player, he’s probably had a typical second year,” Stevens said. “So he’s had some real ups and some games that aren’t so good. The biggest thing is being able to do it every single night, every single time out. But he’s had those moments against other teams, too. We need him to play well for us to have a chance to win. He’s probably our best low-post scorer on most nights.”

When asked if Sullinger could play center, Stevens said: “I think he’s got to play the power forward. He’s only about 6-7 or 6-8. He can play the center in the appropriate matchup and to be very effective at the center spot against the best in the league, he needs to be able to stretch the floor consistently but his main position, and the position where we’d like to play him most often, is the power forward.”

bob

.