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As a player with limited lift, some have predicted that Sullinger will have trouble scoring and rebounding against longer defenders.
So coach Doc Rivers is attempting to institute a protection plan. He wants to make sure that Sullinger is never the biggest Celtic on the floor. That way he won’t automatically draw an opposing center in the paint.
Otherwise, he could follow in the footsteps of Glen Davis in one particularly hazardous way, as the Celtic most likely to get his shot blocked.
“We try to protect him so that won’t happen,” said Rivers. “The reason we played him with Kevin (Garnett) in the second quarter is because the bigger guy was always guarding Kevin. We got the matchup that way.
“Sometimes you have to create the matchup. Some teams don’t have two bigs like that, they only have one. So when you’re playing with Darko (Milicic) or you’re playing with Kevin, you really don’t have that problem. The good thing is that for a long stretch he was guarding a 5. Early on I thought they were taking advantage of it, but as the game went on I thought he got better at it.”
Herald – Doc not trying to paint Sullinger into box
When I watch Jared Sullinger, I am reminded of Glen Davis. It’s more about the physical resemblance, than matching styles. It’s obvious that Sullinger is more talented offensively than Davis.
Doc’s protection plan probably has a lot to do with instilling confidence in the rookie. Sully’s mid-range touch gives him the ability to pull bigger bodies away from the basket, but, at this point, they want to keep the game plan simple.
I never faulted Big Baby for the repeated shot blocks. Hell, it meant he was fighting among the trees, a much better scene than firing jumpers on the perimeter.
The Celtics play against Emporio Armani at 12pm EST. The game’s on CSNNE and NBA TV.
The rest of the links:
Celtics.com – Celtics goal tonight is to improve, not win | Jared Sullinger video blog | ESPN Boston – All boats rising in Atlantic | W2W4 – Celtics vs Emporio Armani | Globe – Doc promises to take mental approach with Darko, Rondo | Herald – Green means go | Pierce faces world audience | CSNNE – Green, Sullinger show great promise |
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