Sully may be done

It's difficult to gauge a team's "winning attitude" when it is in so much transition. The Celtics should be shooting for the playoffs, not lottery picks. Lottery picks are sometimes once in a while players, which is what makes losing so alluring to some teams. However, unless you can quickly build a team and start winning soon, that "once in a while" player will be gone.What marquee player wants to join a team with a consistent recent history of losing? If you want to build through known factors, as opposed to unproven prospects, this question unequivocally has to be addressed.


KJ

I am against tanking, but do admit to being torn between liking the Cs getting into the playoffs with the roster they currently have (no real center and their best power forward out for the rest of the year) or missing the playoffs now, getting a better chance at a draft pick and then competing even better next year.

Although this thread has gone off its original course about Sullenger being done for the year, I will say that his injury this is much more of a fluke injury in my mind than anything else. His body should be further along now as far as being more muscled than fat, but he is always going to be a 250-260 pound player whether it be a soft weight or a more chiseled weight. The bone in his foot cannot tell 'soft' from 'chiseled'.

His next step is to get his foot healthy and then stay closer to the basket on offense.

Wide Clyde,

Big men often have to deal with knee and foot injuries and those situations almost never bode well for their future prospects.

I can't speak on the long-term severity of Sullinger's injury, but if it has anything to do with weight, then I don't see it rectifying itself.


KJ

k_j_88 wrote:Wide Clyde,

Big men often have to deal with knee and foot injuries and those situations almost never bode well for their future prospects.

I can't speak on the long-term severity of Sullinger's injury, but if it has anything to do with weight, then I don't see it rectifying itself.


KJ

KJ,

I, for one, am quite alarmed about this foot situation with Sully. He is one of my favorite players on this team and an injury like this is very, very impactful on his career. If he cannot play at 280 or wherever he is now, then he must lose weight or he is going to be perennial damaged goods. If he loses weight then how will that change his game? If he can't do the same damage down low because he's 240-250, a more normal weight for a 6'9" PF, can he adapt and still be the player he is or does he lose the big edge he had which was that he had the beef on every other PF?



bob



.

BobH,

I think Sullinger would mostly benefit from losing the weight rathan than be at a disadvantage as a result of any potential cons associated with this change in physique. However, this is only possible if Stevens does not play him at center at a reduced weight. Sullinger is not particularly athletic so he's the type of player that needs to use his physicality. My best guess is that his physicality will suffer to an extent if he loses weight. But as long as he's facing other PFs, that should not be a problem. He should still be able to overpower most of them.


KJ

Our luck at landing high picks even in years where the odds were favorable did not work out well as I recall.

I am all for them making the playoffs.  I do not care if they get knocked out in the first round or even beat 4 straight like I believe the Knicks did to them a few years ago.

Danny has a bundle of picks.  if he is  as smart as some think that he is perhaps he can move up in the draft.  I say make the playoffs and worry about the draft later.

With respect to Sully.  No one should be surprised that he has a stress fracture or that down the road his knees will become an issue or his back may act up.  The kid is carrying a basket load of  Sam's Club groceries back there.  He has been laboring to get up and down the court.  he plays with reckless abandon going after rebounds.  The notion that he will be able to experience any significant weight loss is a Jenny Craig pipedream.  

The Celtics will need upgrades at every position except for maybe the 2 guard to get really good.

If they want to play with pace then Sully need to be traded.  He cannot get up and down and he cannot defend.

If brad wants a slow down game, Sully is a good fit until he is on IR.

I hate to see any player be out for an extended period of time but there is no surprise here.

dboss

I think that Sullinger should probably be traded. I don't think he's built for the kind of team it seems that the Celtics are trying to build.


KJ