Random Thoughts on Preseason, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk

http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2015/09/random-thoughts-on-preseason-jared.html





Random Thoughts on Preseason, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk







I'm getting very excited for the season to start.  The Celtics have a good young core coming back from last season.  They also have a couple of solid veterans added into the group.  Many of the young guys have been in Boston all summer working out individually and together.  The others are now coming back in advance of training camp, which will start the end of September.   September 25 is the first day players participating in the Global Games to report to their teams. That's when the fun begins.



Preseason games will begin on October 2 with a game between the Nuggets and the Clippers, which will be our first time to see Paul Pierce in a Clippers uniform. There has been a lot of chatter that Pierce came down to a choice between the Celtics and the Clippers for this season. It would be a nice story for Pierce to end his career as a Celtic, but I have a feeling that he'd much rather chase another ring and didn't see the opportunity to do that in Boston this season.

The Celtics first game will be on October 6 at 8:30 PM ET against Olimpia Milano in Milan, Italy. The game will be broadcast on NBA-TV. Their second game will be on October 8 against Real Madrid in Madrid, Spain. That game will also be broadcast on NBA-TV at 9:00 PM ET. The Celtics will then return to the US and won't play again until October 14 when they will face the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center. They will also play at New York on 10/16, at home vs Brooklyn on 10/19 and at home vs the Knicks on 10/22. They will close out the preseason on 10/23 in New Hampshire against the Sixers.

The trip to Europe gave the 2007-08 team incredible chemistry. But then, having Kevin Garnett as a teammate will do that for a team. Hopefully this team, who already showed great chemistry last season, will grow even closer on the trip this season. Chemistry is very important in building a team and it's good that this group will have that opportunity. Even though the young core from last season will already have great chemistry, there will be several new players coming in including Amir Johnson, David Lee and 3 rookies who will need to be included in that group.

There are a few dates to keep in mind as the season approaches. The preseason will end on October 23 and rosters will need to be set for opening day by October 26. And the regular season will tip off on the next day, October 27. The Celtics will open their season on October 28 at home against the Sixers. Another date to keep in mind is December 3 when the Celtics will play the Sacramento Kings in Mexico City as part of the NBA Global Games. Also, if the Celtics are going to extend the contracts of Tyler Zeller and Jared Sullinger, that must be done by October 31.

We have seen reports all summer about Jared Sullinger's training regimen with John Lucas. He's looking much thinner and also has been working on his conditioning, which is where he struggled last season. He is running a camp in Boston this week and is working on teaching the kids fundamentals. Here's a video of Jared from Celtics.com.




Former Rutgers coach Mike Rice was working with players at John Lucas' facility and posted this to Twitter. Jared's looking good. I'm expecting a break out season for him this year.

Follow

Coach Mike Rice
‏@CoachMikeRice
It was a pleasure working in the #LucasLab. Worked with one of the best in J Sullinger.




Kelly Olynyk is the starting center for the Canadian National team who are 3-1 in tournament play so far and looking good. He started a bit rusty due to the knee injury that kept him out of the end of the exhibition games. But in the last two games against Venezuela and Puerto Rico (who are coached by Rick Pitino), he played very well. Most of his offense is coming from the perimeter and mid range jumpers and his shots are falling. He is often playing point center and is the best passer on a very good team. He finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists against Venezuela and 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists against Puerto Rico playing just under 25 minutes per game. If he can just release his aggressive side, especially on defense, he could have a break out season as well.

There hasn't been much news lately, but I expect that will be changing over the next couple of weeks as the players report for camp and we get closer to training camp. Just 20 more days to go. I can't wait!



bob
MY NOTE: 20 more days, less than 3 weeks. Woohoo! Check out the video, Sully looks positively sleek!


.

Both Olynyk and Sullinger have futures in the NBA and quite possibly both with the Celtics.

The competition for playing time in the frontcourt this season is going to bring out the best in both guys.

Frankly, I can see either one or even both guys getting traded as well, but I hope that if they get traded it will be because they have improved enough so that some other team wants them and is willing to give the Cs a very good player at a spot they need and not just traded to basically get rid of them to trim down the roster.

Sullinger is at the point that he needs to prove himself worthy of his next contract in the league, and Olynyk is only one year away from the same situation.  I believe that both guys fully understand the workings of the NBA and why some guys get big money (Middleton in Milwaukee as an example) at the end of their rookie contracts and some don't.

Money motivates many people, usually dictates where a guy decides to play and should also motivate him to understand just how much control he has (injuries excepting) over how much he will sign for.

Certainly sounds like Sullinger has point in a lot of work.

Dboss