Jared Sullinger Should be Rested for the Regular Season

I would be lying if the news of Jared Sullinger being available to play for the remainder of the regular season did not excite me and to see him get some action in his first game back against the Bucks was truly a pleasant surprise. The problem is that while Sullinger may be able to help the team to an extent, it would be wiser to keep him on the bench until a potential playoff series came around.

There is no doubting the kind of impact Sullinger can have on Boston Celtics. Before getting knocked out due to an injury Sullinger was the best player on the Celtics. He rebounded the ball well, played solid defense but most importantly it was his offensive contributions that made the biggest difference.

Feb 11, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger (7) makes the basket against Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated Atlanta 89-88. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Sullinger is a perfect fit in the Celtics offense. A big that can stretch the floor with a presense in the paint seems to be the prototype for all bigs that have since joined the Celtics and they have worked wonders on the team.

There are two problems with bringing Sullinger back immediately and the first problem is the main criticism of Sullinger’s game and that is conditioning. Right after Sullinger was declared out with an injury there were reports of his being the only player on the team to fail the conditioning test. Now imagine the state Sullinger must be in having missed all that time die to injury.

Sullinger struggled with conditioning before and to thrust him back into game action now certainly won’t make things better. This is not to say that Sullinger would be a complete lability on the court. Sullinger will always have a great outside shot and would certainly offer an offensive boost in his current state.

The problem for Sullinger is that until his conditioning is brought up to par the Celtics have better options. As I stated earlier Sullinger has almost become the prototype for future bigs on this team and that is made evident with the way other bigs are utilized.

Tyler Zeller may be a bit more traditional in that the three point shot is not a part of his game. Zeller does a lot of his damage in the paint, but he is not limited to it. Zeller has become one of the better mid range jump shooters in the league (shooting around 55% on the season) and his offensive production has probably been the main reason the Celtics have not missed Sullinger’s presence too much.

Where the Celtics do an even better job of making up for Sullinger is with Jonas Jerebko, Kelly Olynyk and in fewer minutes, Luigi Datome. These three players’ game is much closer to Sullinger’s than Zeller as they do a great deal of their offensive damage from behind the arc.

Mar 4, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) fouls Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko (8) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Jerebko is shooting 37.7% from long range, Olynyk is shooting 34% and Datome is shooting an unbelievable 41.9%. While none of these guys get close to Sullinger’s 14.1 points per game, the three of them put together have been one of the better offensive threats for the Celtics.

The depth that the Celtics have gives them the luxury of having the option to sit Sullinger for now. Even if Sullinger could provide a few more points per game, the question you have to ask is at what cost.

Sullinger’s conditioning is something that would not only impact his defensive play but also his offensive play. One of the great indicators for Celtics’ success this season is the turnover battle. The Celtics have made it clear that if they do not limit their turnovers, they will struggle to beat the top tier opponents.

The Celtics lost a close game to the Bucks and while they still have two fewer turnovers than the Bucks, they still gave the ball away 16 times. You just have to look to the previous game to understand why that is a negative.

The Celtics are at their absolute best when they are moving the ball well and are not playing sloppy on offense. Against the Pacers the Celtics limited themselves to just 10 turnovers. The fact that in both games the Celtics had two fewer turnovers reveals how much their offense depends on limiting the mistakes, even if they manage to take the ball away on defense.

Even if the Celtics are able to force turnovers on the defensive side they will be hopeless if they turn the ball over on offense. The combination of Sullinger’s potential fatigue and rusty play is too great of a turnover risk for the Celtics. With so many bigs that can still stretch the floor the Celtics should not risk bringing Sullinger back in until the post season.

Once the post season comes around Sullinger will have had time on the practice court and will have worked on his conditioning.

Let’s not forget that Sullinger went down right around the time that the Celtics were settling into all their roster additions. The Celtics have done an incredible job of meshing together and playing like a unit despite all the roster changes. Throwing Sullinger into the mix too early could threaten a lot of the chemistry that the Celtics have built.

With time, Sullinger will most assuredly return to his form and will be arguably the best player for the Celtics. It is simply too unrealistic to expect Sullinger to be able to immediately return, especially with his conditioning issues. If Sullinger is given the rest of the regular season to catch up and the Celtics do manage to snag a spot in the post season he will be in a much better position to help the Celtics win.

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