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[dysgenic]

He plays atrocious defense.

Hopefully some GM out there gets enamored with Sully's offensive #'s and trades us a REAL big man.

I loathe undersized, slow-footed, no-defense, all-offense PFs.  UGH!

I don't like him either, but he is not an atrocious defender.  On the ball, though...
maybe.  I amend my former statement to- average team defender.

[Fafnir]

I think his team defense is even worse than his man to man defense. Gets completely lost in rotations and is slow when he's not lost.

Forces others to rotate down and surrender wide open shots from the next player.

[Yogi]

   What evidence is there that Sullinger plays bad defense?  Doc has stated that Sullinger knows the rotations better than the vets even.  KG doesn't call someone a high IQ player and compare him favorably to Perk if you can't play defense.  He's not as good as Perk but he's around where Perk was at 20.  Doc won't give him minutes if he can't play defense.  Watching him, he moves his feet extremely well, he draws charges, blocks shots, gets steals and boxes out.  I would argue that he's one of the better defenders on the team. 
   Just because a guy has a certain body type doesn't mean he's "slow" and automatically can't defend.  I've rarely seen anyone blow by Sullinger or him not run out and contest shots on the perimeter.  He doesn't have the tools to be an athletic lock-down defender, but he has the length, quickness and IQ to be a good one, which he is. 

[kozlodoev]

He is being more productive than thomas robinson who was drafted 5th overall, 16 spots above him.

He's also more productive than Darko, a second overall pick with years of NBA experience. So what?

[MBz]

He needs to play more.  We are in desperate need of his rebounding.  Rebounding is part of defense, I'll deal with his on the ball issues if he's going to rebound the basketball and not give up second chance opportunities. 

[Fafnir]

He needs to play more.  We are in desperate need of his rebounding.  Rebounding is part of defense, I'll deal with his on the ball issues if he's going to rebound the basketball and not give up second chance opportunities.

Our defensive rebounding has been just fine. Our defense has not been.

[Chris]

He needs to play more.  We are in desperate need of his rebounding.  Rebounding is part of defense, I'll deal with his on the ball issues if he's going to rebound the basketball and not give up second chance opportunities.

Our defensive rebounding has been just fine. Our defense has not been.

I agree.  Although I think Sully has quietly turned into one of our best big man defenders over the last handful of games.  It's by default, but no less true.  He doesn't protect the basket, but he is more consistently in good defensive position than any of the other big men. 

[kozlodoev]

He needs to play more.  We are in desperate need of his rebounding.  Rebounding is part of defense, I'll deal with his on the ball issues if he's going to rebound the basketball and not give up second chance opportunities.

Our defensive rebounding has been just fine. Our defense has not been.

Correct. I was somewhat surprised to see we actually rank out as the 6th team in defensive rebounding percentage. Sullinger has been slightly better than league average in this respect, which is acceptable for a rookie.

However, we're bottom feeders in terms of defensive efficiency (pts per 100 possession is an atrocious 103), which is just killing us.

[CFAN38]

I have been happy with Sully so fare this season. I think he will be at his best defensively when paired with an athletic 6'10+ shot blocking center.

[kozlodoev]

I think he will be at his best defensively when paired with an athletic 6'10+ shot blocking center.

Isn't everyone? 

The problem is these don't exactly grow on trees. Here's to hoping that Fab Melo pans out.

[manl_lui]

absolutely love Sully right now...looking like an absolute steal...he's doing better than the other 15 picks ahead of him.

Rivers, Robinson, Lamb, White, Jones, etc...love it!

More surprised...100% 3pt?

[KGs Knee]

He plays atrocious defense.

Hopefully some GM out there gets enamored with Sully's offensive #'s and trades us a REAL big man.

I loathe undersized, slow-footed, no-defense, all-offense PFs.  UGH!

Powe/Baby we're both pretty bad their first few years. (Powe never really got to playing good defense) But both figured it out with time how to play effectively, as has Bass.

Giving up on a useful big man 15 games into his rookie season because he's bad defensivelY? Most rookies are really bad defensively.

Well, if Sully does, in time, learn to play better defense, my opinion of him would likely change.  I just don't think he will ever be a good defender.  His atheletic limitations will likely always hinder him on that end of the court.

Unlike Davis, Sully has very little lateral quickness.  Neither have any "hops", but Davis is a good defender due to said lateral quickness, combined with his gerth.  Sully has some gerth, and a much higher IQ, but I really believe his lack of quickness will be the ultimate deciding factor.

As to your point about giving up on a rookie, I don't really see how getting a higher quality big man through trade, especially when we are in win-now mode, is truly giving up.  Sometimes the best use of assets isn't keeping them and seeing them fully develop, it's flipping them for a better player in the here and now.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I don't care what people say about Sully, my eyes say he is bad on D. I won't say is horrible anymore but he is still bad. He gets ran around like he isn't there and he is too slow to rotate (yes he has a high IQ but genius does not make you get to a spot faster)! He is solid on man d though when he isn't facing anyone too quick, he uses his body well.

When KG compares him to Perk doesn't mean he is talking defensively, Perk did a lot of great things that never show up on the stat sheet (that's an aside to his defense), he was tough, and played hard! I can definitely see those qualities in Sully but no way KG was talking about defense in comparison.

[ScoobyDoo]

A lot of analysts / media critics have said Sully is slow but I just don't see that at all. He's not Larry Nance but rarely do I see guys just burning by him. He's generally in good position on D as well. Not a major shot blocker but he mixes it up.

I think the single most important thing Sully can do moving forward is to hit the weight room in a major way and focus on his upper body. Reggie Evans, amazingly, makes Sully look small.

If he can trim about 10-15 pounds of baby fat and replace with about 15-20 pounds of upper body strength - he will be a real bruiser under the boards, with a lot of skill as well. Like a Reggie Evans, with serious skills.

I like his future, but he needs the Perkins program.

[ScoobyDoo]

I also think his intelligence and foot work make up for a lot of the athleticism he is lacking.

For a true rookie, he's doing pretty [dang] good.