Remember how good he was with KG next to him?
On D, LOL that was hilarious. He did not play better D until this year.
Mostly because of focus and effort, not really because of lack of ability to do so. Also, injuries and fatness.
Worth pointing out that his impact defensively in his rookie season was off the bench, not playing alongside Garnett. When Garnett went to the bench and Sullinger held his own was when we finally began having a worthwhile big man rotation. It was important through that stretch.
Sully was pretty bad early in the season, but once he got used to the rotations and what not, he became very good until he went down.
I may be wrong on this one, but he was also very good at taking charges back then. I haven't seen much of that since. Probably because he got fatter.
But once he returned last season, one could tell his defensive focus was back on, hobbled as he was, but it was noticeable. I think once you notice that you could expect that there was going to be a big improvement this season defensively.
Just has to keep at it and not lose sight of it.
*an immovable force in the post on D. You must shoot over him because you can't back him down.
*a very intelligent defender and uses his quick hands very well.
*is one of the best rebounders in the league and stops opponents from getting second shots, thus this great per/100 stat.
Hard to argue with most of this, it is great when he is healthy and in shape enough to stay on the floor. I would argue that he hardly contains all big men, that some light him up bigtime.
He won't be making 1st, 2nd or even 7th NBA all defensive team anytime soon.
Are folks aware that MIA is generally worse on D, when Whiteside in there.
Also, if Sully is so great on D, why does CBS play offense/Defense with him and take him out during critical defensive possessions. I am guessing lack of trust, and his advanced stats? I am sure he is not doing it at random.
Sully has improved on D, but he is hardly all NBA. That being said, he is probably the best guy we have at denying post position. He can push a man off the block. But I think we could upgrade, get a guy who can rebound about as good, defend, add rim protection and shoot a better percentage if the Horford rumors are true.
He really doesn't get to play in the offense/defense game Stevens does. Mostly it's played with Olynyk and Amir, Sullinger is rarely there when that's at stake.
Variety of reasons for that not necessarily because of lack of trust, but it could be. One, we're usually playing small at that point, and speed is crucial. In small ball Sullinger's defense is putrid, with few exceptions, so the right call is to play Amir there.
Secondly, well KO is better offensively and spreads the floor better.
So he's rarely there for those offense/defense scenarios, and usually not the player inserted on the offensive side of the ball as it is. If Stevens is playing match-ups, he's usually inserted in the defensive side when match-ups call for it.
But otherwise, I don't think Sully has been looked for in those moments all that much mostly because we go small. That aside, I'd be guessing but I won't discount anything.
I think the defensive impact he's bringing to this team is undeniable in my opinion, but it's not for all situations. And it's certainly not flawless.