Sullinger has been operating around the rim far more often than he did at the beginning of the season, particularly when he started playing with Zeller. Zeller so often occupied the middle of the paint which forced Sullinger outside to the three-point line. When playing with Olynyk or Bass (haven't checked the stats on this, just going by naked eye), Sullinger seems to dominate the paint more. I'd love it if Zeller was encouraged to shoot from the FT line extended. I think a combination of Sully and Zeller with Zeller playing high and Sullinger down on the blocks could be really effective offensively.
What's wrong with having two guys who can post up on the court at the same time? I get what you're saying, and I'm sure that they could be interchangeable out there if need be, but I'm old fashioned, lol. Play inside.
Also, the combined passing ability of Sullinger and Zeller together on the court would surely help us out offensively, no? Just me? Okay, lol.
I agree with what you're saying, but Sully and Zeller are sort of average passers. We're not talking about Bird and Walton here.
Sully has shown flashes to good to very good passing skills and Zeller is a pretty good passer for his size as well. The problem is not passing. It's rare that two big men can sit on opposite blocks without compromising floor spacing. At the very least one should ideally operate as a face-up big from the free throw line while the other roams the paint 3-6 feet in. It's why Dwight Howard seems to have much more space playing with Motiejunas, why Gasol and Noah haven't worked as well as one would've hoped this year (while each have the offensive skills to play as the face-up big, neither excel as much as when in the painted area), and why the Randolph-M. Gasol combination has seemed to improved despite Randolph's aging as Gasol has continued to add to his outside game.
Yeah, I was just going to say that about Sullinger. As for spacing, why not have two guys inside? We don't have a lot of shooting on our team as of now, anyway, and if one of the big men misses at least the other should be able to contest and possibly get the offensive rebound. The reason why it hasn't worked for the Bulls is that Noah is a terrible offensive player, both away from, and near the basket, and at this stage of his career, Pau is more likely to settle for a midrange jumper than play in the post, although he has been on the block more this year than I expected, but only because of the number of minutes he's played for the last several years, never mind his age.
I'm not saying that Sully and Zeller would be world-beaters out there, but I would just like to see how it works out if Stevens ever tries it out. Zeller isn't Pau or Big Al, but he does have some excellent moves, and is fundamentally sound. I mean, how many 7 footers actively use their left hands on the block, and not only for put-backs? I can only think of the Gasol brothers and Hibbert, so it's pretty rare these days. If only Zeller was a shot blocker. Sigh. I don't see why he couldn't become one, given his physical tools.