BOSTON — In the midst of a breakout second season in the NBA, all Jared Sullinger can seem to hear is how much more work remains to be done.
After the first half of the season ended with Sullinger as one of the few bright spots for the Boston Celtics, his father offered a harsh critique of Sullinger’s body language. After a workmanlike performance in which Sullinger finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds against an All-Star caliber opposing center, his coach remarked on how much better he can be.
It’s OK. Sullinger is used to receiving more criticism than praise. But his performance Friday in the Celtics’ 99-89 win over DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings was praiseworthy, even if he won’t hear it.
“I just went out and played my game,” Sullinger said. “I’ve been doing that for the last couple of games, just letting everything go and showing better body language, according to my father. Playing against DeMarcus is always a challenge. He’s a special type of player — should’ve been an All-Star, in my book.”
Cousins is special, as he showed by compiling an identical 31-16 line to Sullinger’s. But this was about more than statistics or body language or potential. It was about work, plain and simple.
“I told our guys in the huddle, ‘This is not a game plan, this is not coverage, this is effort,'” Kings coach Mike Malone said. “I have no defensive game plan or adjustment we can make for rebounding the basketball. It’s just hard work. Jared Sullinger outworked us, and that’s unfortunate.”
Sullinger was omnipresent on the glass, not just in the fourth quarter, when a solid all-around night transformed into something different. But he took a giant leap forward in the fourth, when he had 14 points and five boards. His step-back jump shot over Kings forward Jason Thompson with three minutes left essentially broke Sacramento’s will.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens, however, fell far short of applauding his budding star, just a few months removed from back surgery. When asked about Sullinger’s “ceiling” as a player, Stevens channeled Sully’s father, Satch, by displaying some tough love.
“He’s not there,” Stevens said. “He can get better. Obviously, 31 and 16 is great. Can you do that every night? The bottom line is, as he continues to improve, as he continues to get more games underneath his belt, as he continues to get further away from the surgery and gets more freshness and another summer of work and all of those things, I just think that the sky’s the limit. He’s playing at a nice level, there’s no question about it, but I really believe he can be a consistent double-double guy.”
While maintaining that he is far from feeling 100 percent physically, Sullinger complimented an army of Celtics training staff with helping speed his recovery, not just from his back ailment but from a series of smaller injuries he has sustained this season. Strength and conditioning coach Bryan Doo, assistant strength and conditioning coach Armand Lavallee, head athletic trainer Ed Lacerte, physical therapists Brian Dolan and Todd Campbell and massage therapist Vlade Shulman all got shout-outs from Sullinger.
As hard as Sullinger works on the court, those folks work just as hard behind the scenes to make sure he can stay on the court. They don’t have any other choice. The Celtics need him, as games like Friday’s show. Without Sullinger, the Celtics wouldn’t have won that game, and they won’t win many going forward, either.
“Fair or unfair,” Stevens said, “that’s who we need him to be.”
Play big
The challenges for Sullinger don’t end at a demanding coach and father or some nagging physical maladies. Most people can be satisfied, eventually, and most injuries heal.
Sullinger can’t really do much about his height, however, which Stevens pegs at 6-foot-7 and Sullinger himself places at 6-foot-8 3/4. He might be able to cut down a bit on his 280 pounds this summer, but he threw his weight around fine Friday. Regardless, Sullinger is going to need every edge he can get against opposing players like Cousins, who is only getting better.
“That’s what makes Jared unique, is he’s a big, strong guy that can score over bigger guys in the post,” Stevens said. “That’s why it’s so critical, as we’ve talked about, that he continues to work and refine his perimeter game, which he’s obviously doing well with. But it’s not where it will be someday.”
In at least one respect, Sullinger has an easier time now than he did in college, where he was an All-American. At the college level, with its zone defenses and shorter 3-point line, defenses can swarm a big man like Sullinger. During his Ohio State days, there was really only one way for Sullinger to get the ball around the basket, and that helped make him the player he is — and that he one day will be.
“It’s just more space,” Sullinger said. “In college, I was doubled all the time, so I had to find other ways to score. That’s why my offensive rebounding has been the way it’s been, because I had to find other ways to score in college.”
Threepeat
Watch out, Eastern Conference playoffs. Here come the Celtics. No, seriously.
With their first three-game win streak since Dec. 8, the Celtics are now just 4.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. It stood to reason they would improve as Rajon Rondo got healthy, and they have. Their first two wins in this streak came with Rondo on the court and playing well.
Now, they can boast a victory without their captain. It won’t be easy to keep up this momentum, though. After hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, the Celtics play five of their next six games on the road, including matchups with the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, who are actually somewhat difficult to beat at home. It will be hard to stay in the playoff conversation, but for now, in the second-to-last month of the season, they can say they are still in the chase. Really.
Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.
