"Sullinger, though, is proving to be almost as good on defense for the Celtics as KG, a fact that gets lost because so many of their teammates are not on their level"
Maybe that fact is lost because it's not true? At least I haven't noticed. I've noticed his improvement, but close to KG I don'tsee. I love Sullinger though. I can't believe how fast the rookie is improving.
I've noticed. Thorpe might be going a bit over the top, but Sullinger has been fantastic defensively. He has been far and away their second best big man defender, and has probably been their second best overall defender before Bradley returned.
I think too many people get caught up on shot blocking with big men, and don't realize that you can have a really good big man defender who doesn't block shots.
Sully prevents a ton of easy baskets with his positioning. He does the same thing KG and Perk always did, by getting to the spot early enough to force the offensive player to change course.
He reminds me a lot of Glen Davis (at least how he as in stretches). When Big Baby focussed on defense (before he fell in love with his offense), he was a great team defender, who could really cause havoc in the post, despite his lack of size and jumping ability. The only difference is Sully is a better rebounder.
Now don't get me wrong, Sully will never be KG. But, right now, he is earning his minutes with his defense. I just hope that he does not repeat Glen Davis (among others) career trajectory of taking defense for granted once he becomes a bigger part of the offense.