Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
After a recent overnight hospital stay for a skin infection caused him to miss the previous two practices, Sullinger said he realized the extent of his fatigue during that runout.
“I felt slow out there, even though I am slow,” he said after topping the Memphis Grizzlies, 116-96. “I felt slower. My reaction time was really slow.”
Doctors at the hospital advised Sullinger to consider sitting out Wednesday’s game, and he was initially listed as questionable. After observing the team’s pregame walkthrough, Sullinger elected to try to play through any discomfort.
“That was the whole point of going to the hospital, so I could play,” Sullinger said. “One of the doctors told me, in a polite way, ‘Maybe you should take a day off, try [returning on] Friday.’ I said, ‘Uh, you’re not paying the bills at my house. I got to play Wednesday.'”
In 2012/13, Sullinger was done for the year on January 30.
In 2013/14, Sullinger’s healthiest year before this one, he still missed 7 games due to injury and his shooting percentage and net rating (points per 100 possessions) fell off sharply after the all star break.
In 2014/15, Sullinger was done for the year on February 22.
So far this year, Sully has only missed one game, and both his field goal percentage and his net rating has improved since the all star break (admittedly small sample size, however).
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Sully’s probably going to spend his career looking like Wes Unseld. But that doesn’t mean that he’s out of shape (also, looking like Wes Unseld didn’t keep Wes out of the Hall of Fame). Fans have to stop confusing his physique with his stamina. His conditioning is probably the best it’s ever been right now, and his attitude about it seems to be in the right place as well.
Page 2: Where telling players how to improve their game is “unique”
“First, you’ve got to give him a chance, and once you give him a chance and you see wins coming from what he’s talking about and he really knows what he’s talking about,” said Crowder. “He’s showing us each and every day on film our mistakes, how we can get better. Once we [corrected them], wins started to come out of it. Once you have that, that’s all you want from a coach, is to talk to you and tell you how to get better and see the results, and the end result is we’re getting W’s and that started late last year. A lot of guys bought into it at that point. That’s what you ask for from a coach. You want to believe in him. The best thing that can come out of believing in him is W’s and that’s what drives us to believe in him and listen to him.” (emphasis added)
If the standard photo of a football coach is that of a guy standing on the sidelines staring off into the distance and interacting with no one at all, then the standard photo of a basketball coach is that of a guy who is about one shout away from a brain hemorrhage. Think about it. When was the last time you saw a photo of a basketball coach, during a game, who didn’t look like he was 1) appealing to heaven for divine judgment on a ref, 2) about to swallow a grapefruit, whole, or 3) ready to go after someone with a hatchet.
And while there are certainly photos of Brad shouting, this is a guy who’s unlikely to require surgery to repair his voice box.
The thing is, Brad’s approach works. It works really well. So well, you’d think other coaches might consider giving it a try.
Page 3: Where Ainge is also worried about Smart’s poise
Ainge was also asked about Marcus Smart’s tendency to let the refs get inside his head, an issue which manifested itself in the form of an obscene gesture directed at an official which earned Smart a $15,000 fine this week.
“Yeah, I worry a little bit about that. But I’d rather have it that way than the other way,” Ainge said. “Marcus is a very passionate and emotional player, and he’s also very young. It’s something that we’ve talked a lot about and he’s working toward and he’s getting better, but there’s a maturing process for sure.”
Hot on the heels of Stevens’ comments to Zolak and Bertrand on Wednesday, Danny Ainge backed up his coach’s assessment of Smart’s recent tendency to lose his cool.
For years people said that KG was a chicken because he talked a lot of trash during games and instigated a lot of stuff and then backed down when the shoving started. See, I always thought that was really smart on KG’s part. You get in another guy’s head, you make him lose his cool, you’re helping out your team. You throw a punch or a shove, you push a ref too far, you make an obscene gesture and all of a sudden you’re not helping your team. You’re hurting your team. KG gets that. Smart needs to get that. You can either play with intensity and a firm understanding of what your goals are, or you just play with intensity and shoot yourself in the foot.
The rest of the links:
CSNNE: Stevens: Not what you say at halftime, it’s how you play | Woj: ‘Real chance’ Celtics land Horford in free agency | Ainge on Olynyk: ‘Kelly just isn’t feeling right’
Boston.com: You couldn’t tell Jared Sullinger wasn’t feeling well Wednesday night
MassLive: Tom Thibodeau takes in Boston Celtics practice while in town for Sloan Conference | Danny Ainge: Worried ‘a little bit’ about Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart’s emotional outbursts
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