How Bad Does Sullinger Have to Play Before People Want to Bench Him?

[LooseCannon]

In his last four games, Jared Sullinger has scored 5, 5, 0, and 5 points on a combined 6-31 shooting (19.4%).

Now, I don't think he should be benched, but if Jeff Green had put up those numbers, you'd have posters saying to give James Young a shot.  If Avery Bradley did that, you'd have multiple threads clamoring to free Marcus Smart.  (I wouldn't want to bench Green or Bradley if they had a run of bad games, either, because I'm not a SVG-level master of panic.)

I don't think the Celtics have to trade Sullinger, but he's not a definite piece of the puzzle.  He's never going to be good enough to be the best player on a contender.  He probably won't be good enough to be the third-best player on a contender.  I don't really see him ever being an All-Star.  Honestly, I don't think it is a lock that a healthy Sullinger will be a NBA starter five years from now.  I'm not sure he'll be worth the contract that he will get when he reaches free agency.

I just think posters give Sullinger more benefit of the doubt than they give to other players.  Why are people unfair in that regard?

[Fafnir]

Player's on their rookie deals get more leeway than guys on their second contract.

Also to be frank I think less people have watched the past four games as he's slumped. It's the holidays and we've been playing bad teams.

[Fafnir]

Besides, its already happening anyways, this post was just made for example.

Olynyk became the first Boston reserve to score 30 points in a regular-season game since Ricky Davis on April 1, 2005.

+1. KO should start now over Sully

[Evantime34]

I think Sullinger was a better fit with Olynyk offensively because KO cleared the paint out for Sully to get post touches. Zeller crowds the paint and has caused Sully's role to be more of a 3 point shooter and less of an offensive rebounder.

I wouldn't mind seeing Zeller and KO start, provided KO doesn't pass up open shots.

[TheFlex]

There are plenty of posters on here that would love nothing more than for what you suggest to actually take place. You must be avoiding the game threads. I should probably start doing the same.

Sully is going through a mean offensive slump. It's good to see him rebound as well as he did last night as that means he can still be effective even when he's not shooting well.

It's important to keep in mind that the reason Olynyk was benched wasn't isolated to his offensive production, but rather that his offensive production was not negating his atrocious defensive performance. He was forcing Sully to guard centers, which miraculously Sully still managed to do better than Olynyk guarded PFs.

I don't think Sully will be benched. The team is better defensively with him on the floor and he was one of the team's top 3 players through the first 15 games. If this slump continues for ten more games, then it might be a legitimate discussion.

[Who]

It's not how bad. It's how long the bad play lasts.

If Sully plays like this for 10-12 games, then sure, stick his ass on the bench.

3-4 games? Forget about it. Sully was playing very well up until recently. One of the team's best players. Not changing the starting lineup and all the rotations every time a player has a couple of bad games. You'll cause far more damage to your team than benefit. NBA players need consistent role and consistent minutes to be at their best.

3-4 weeks vs 3-4 games.

It was the same with Olynyk at the start of the season for me. I wanted him to get a good run in the starting lineup to see how things went. No rushing to decisions. Olynyk had a good run of games (12 or so starts) but he played like garbage and deserved to lose his spot.

[Donoghus]

Sully seems to be quite the binky around here and seems awfully less of a lightening rod.   Heck, I got attacked for having the gall to suggest that I thought K.O. had a higher upside than Sully.  And they're teammates!

I think Green came with the pressure of playing in Paul Pierce's shadow.  That's no easy task.  Rondo has a very unique skill set that really hasn't quite been seen before.  He's not the traditional PG in a sense.  That invites a lot of criticism.  Especially by not being a scorer and since we've since him set the bar so high for himself from past play. 

Sully, like Faf mentioned, is still on his rookie deal and seems much more traditional for his position.   He's also seen as almost a third fiddle on this team.  Since Rondo & Green are taking the majority of the criticism, a lot less seems to fall to Sully.   Also, for the most part, he's having a pretty strong season save for the past few games.

[PickNRoll]

I'm not worried about Sully. He's still far and away the best rebounder we have.  His dirty work boxing out is good for ~20 rebounds per game.  Everybody benefits.

I wish he would play more inside-out rather than outside-in.

[Donoghus]

It's not how bad. It's how long the bad play lasts.

If Sully plays like this for 10-12 games, then sure, stick his ass on the bench.

3-4 games? Forget about it. Sully was playing very well up until recently. One of the team's best players. Not changing the starting lineup and all the rotations every time a player has a couple of bad games. You'll cause far more damage to your team than benefit. NBA players need consistent role and consistent minutes to be at their best.

3-4 weeks vs 3-4 games.

It was the same with Olynyk at the start of the season for me. I wanted him to get a good run in the starting lineup to see how things went. No rushing to decisions. Olynyk had a good run of games (12 or so starts) but he played like garbage and deserved to lose his spot.

I'd agree with this.  Everyone has their slumps.  3-4 games is nothing alarming.

[td450]

Hate to say it, but it occurred to me watching last night that he looks heavier than when the season started, which is mind boggling, if true. He also had a defeated look about him. Like last year, he has runs of games where he looks like a real talent, but he also has long stretches where he looks like he isn't engaged. Perhaps he has mild bipolar issues. The overall result is a guy who mostly scores around the rim but is only a career 44% shooter.

I don't think the guy has the mindset of a professional athlete.

[Fafnir]

A slump of bad play has you diagnosed as bipolar  ?

Mostly scores around the rim? He's taking 3.4 3s per game! Only 28% of his shots have been within 3 feet of the hoop.

Tyler Zeller is at 60% of his FGA from within 3 feet fo the hoop to provide a comparison.

[clover]

About twice as bad as KO in his slump.

[Evantime34]

A slump of bad play has you diagnosed as bipolar  ?

Mostly scores around the rim? He's taking 3.4 3s per game! Only 28% of his shots have been within 3 feet of the hoop.

Tyler Zeller is at 60% of his FGA from within 3 feet fo the hoop to provide a comparison.

I would have to look into this but from observation I would say he takes more shots around the rim when playing with Olynyk compared to Zeller.

[TheFlex]

He also had a defeated look about him. Like last year, he has runs of games where he looks like a real talent, but he also has long stretches where he looks like he isn't engaged. Perhaps he has mild bipolar issues.

I don't think the guy has the mindset of a professional athlete.

He's one of the better players on a team that consistently loses and the losing doesn't seem to have any end in sight. Players, no matter how good they are, will fall into swoons from time to time; pair that with a team in a swoon for a whole season and eventually the players will go through entire games without exhibiting any resilience.

[Rosco917]

The fact is we have two poor defensive power forwards, that have similar skill sets. Both can't jump, or are very athletic, or can defend the rim or play D.
Both pass well, handle the ball, and score fairly well. Both are similar in age and experience. Both have more up side remaining.
One of these young PF we have should go. So this organization can bring in a defensive minded, rim protecting, power forward that can blend with the remaining offensive minded PF we have remaining. (An Ed Davis type or better)
Naturally we also need a solid center to build a front line that isn't so helpless defending the rim.