Sullinger 'back at home' around the basket

Sullinger 'back at home' around the basket
February 4, 2015, 12:30 am


Jared Sullinger is one of the Boston Celtics’ most talented players, with the ability to score around the basket and from beyond 3-point range.

Like so many of today’s big men, Sullinger has a tendency from time to time to fall in love with the jumpshot, occasionally losing sight of the fact that there are nights – lots of them, actually – when his burly 6-foot-9 frame would be better served in the post rather than putting up long jumpers and 3-balls.

But in Boston's 108-97 win at New York, Sullinger went old school and did what burly 6-9 big men do and that is hurt teams around the basket.

Sullinger finished with a near double-double of 22 points and nine rebounds, not to mention managing to dish out a game-high six assists.

Although he still managed to take a trio of 3-pointers (he missed all three of them), it was clear that he was on a mission to score as much as he could in the post.

“I was surprised they didn’t dig the way they normally do,” Sullinger said. “I was shocked by that. It gave me a lot of room to go left or right and I was able to get my shot off.”

Sullinger recognized early in the game that he had a mismatch and to the credit of his teammates, they made a point of trying to exploit it as much as they could.

New York’s big man tandem of Jason Smith and Lou Amundson were simply not strong enough to keep Sullinger from getting deep, low-post position pretty much whenever he wanted to.

And when they took away Sullinger’s primary move, he quickly went to a counter-move that was often dipping the left shoulder and tossing up a right-handed hook shot.

“He’s got touch,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “That’s what makes him tough.”

And when the hook shots weren’t hurting the Knicks, Sullinger hit them with the fade-away jumper.

“It’s his counter move so it’s really important,” Stevens said. “He’s got a great touch with the right hand hook. You gotta have a move and a counter-move if you want to be a great player so it helps.”

Said Sullinger: “I realize I need to get on the block more. I took a couple jump shots, some of them were forced. Being on the block, I was back at home.”



bob



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Getting on the block more often sounds good to me, although I'll really miss the preponderance of three-point clankers.

Sam

This is where this guy probably should have been all year, but I have not really minded the attempt to make him into more of a "stretch four" this year. The large outburst of scoring around the hoop should just about eliminate taking any more 3 pointers.

As the time comes for the Celtics to decide who is going to be on next year's team, I think that Sullenger needs to play much closer to the hoop to solidify his roster spot for 2015-16. Him being able to score 20 per night will be very important for him and the team next year as the team should be ready to think of being a .500 (or better) team.

wow wide.....I just don't see Sully as a 20pt/game scorer.

I've always seen him as 14pt/8 reb. guy myself.

now I am more than willing to admit I may have limited his upside some, but I still can't see him as that high a scorer. His lack of lift inside will forever limit his scoring there, IMO.

and I do agree with Stevens attempts to make him a better outside scorer. However more mid-range like Bass may be better for his abilities.

so for me...less 3's for Sully.....more stop and pops from 15-18feet instead would be nice.

and PLEASE stop the "put you head down and your shoulder down and drive right into the defense" attempts. They will forever be called offensive fouls (because they are) and they are offensive to watch as well.

but tell ya what...I would be VERY happy of Sully becomes a regular 16 pt/8 rebound guy!

split the difference isn't all bad

kdp,

I would also not be unhappy if Sullenger could become the 16 PPG player, but I still think that he can score more than that if he is shooting closer to the basket stuff than the three pointers and even the mid range stuff.

Scoring 20 per game is getting 8 out of 14 shots and four free throws per game. In fact, if he is hitting the inside shots, he will probably get about 9 or 10 free throw attempts per game. I don't think 20 per night is not impossible especially if he is playing 32+ minutes per night.

The 14 shots may sound like a lot, but it really is only three or four put-backs of offensive rebounds, 7 post ups, a lay up or two and two other attempts from some other type of shot(s).

Again, I have not been unhappy with Stevens encouraging Sullenger to shoot more outside stuff this year, but I fully believe that he will be a much more productive player if he stays inside more often.

I think part of Sully's 'inconsistency' is that the match-ups affect his game significantly. In the Knicks game, they didn't have a big defensive presence inside that could block his shots. However, as KDP said, he doesn't get up high enough to get those shots off against a big defensive center. So he's going to have higher scoring nights against teams with weaker interior defense than those without. Brad is supposed to be all about the match-ups. By encouraging Sully to get comfortable with jump shots, it gives him a way to contribute to the offense on nights where he isn't going to have a lot of success down low, and if he can draw that interior defender out to cover his mid range and 3 point shots, someone else might get easy looks under the basket. He's not going to be a guy who goes out and plays the same way against every team, but hopefully he'll take every opportunity to light up teams like the Knicks when he has the chance.

-V

"...it gives him a way to contribute to the offense on nights where he isn't going to have a lot of success down low."

Good point, Baron.

Sam

I agree he needs to keep polishing/working on his midrange and outside game, as until he can score inside on a Perk like defender consistently, he needs to further all his scoring options. After beating up on guys like Howard and Yao in the paint, Sully was the Pillsbury Dough Boy and Perk relished eating him up.

I think Sully's biggest need right now is a new watch.

Let's see if he can keep himself from getting benched yet again.

Another strong game by Sullenger and he would have probably scored another 5-6 points last night if he had taken three less three pointers.  Getting two more hoops from in closer and hitting a couple of free throws off fouls drawn nearer the hoop could have gotten him 27 or 28.

He has plenty of moves and a nice touch on all of his shots that are closer to the hoop to almost put him on a "no-shots-from-the-deep-outside" general rule.  His hook shot alone allows him to play 3 inches taller in the paint.

Sully should pattern his game after Zach Randolph, hes got to get in better shape and he could be a force for years.

Actually Sully's jump shot from inside the arc is very good. Just stay away from the three ball, try to score in the post and if that doesn't work take those jumpers from inside the arc. If he would do that I could see him averaging 18-20 points a game.