Blog

We’ve seen how well Jared Sullinger has been performing over summer league and the Europe exhibition games. Is he however, making a strong enough case to be in the starting lineup over the de facto choice – jump shooting big man Brandon Bass?

Bass on the bench

Bass is fantastic in the starting lineup when he plays alongside Rondo, being able to space the floor with his mid-range game. His consistent scoring was a huge factor in last season’s success, and definitely a contributor in this coming season.

He has however proved to play fine in a bench role, providing gritty defense and taking his shots whenever he gets them. His impact, although reduced when in the bench mob, is still better than how Sully would be on the bench.

How KG and Rondo affect court play

KG’s tendency to take the long two provides the means of drawing away the bigger defender, which gives Sullinger (or Bass) a shot at rebounding and possibly finishing shots in the paint.

Rondo on the other hand provides aggressive drives into the paint, which draws the help defense his way. Add his ability to thread the pass into the hands of a waiting teammate, and it becomes a case of picking your poison. Either the help defense goes up to stop Rondo (which leads to a hand off pass), or Rondo gets his shot.

Sullinger on the bench

Without KG and Rondo’s presence on the court, Sullinger’s chances of getting shots under the basket would be far and few in between.

You can definitely count on the fact that the passing will be less fluid with the second unit, which would lead to Sully focusing on rebounds more than anything else – I suppose you could call him a rebounding machine.

Sully is a great opportunist

This is one of those things that will happen when Sullinger is ready and waiting. Rondo drives and draws the defense, hands it off for an easy two points.

(via Red’s Army gallery – preseason game two)

These opportunistic putbacks and dunks are exactly what Perk used to get off Rondo. Bass could do the same, but his style is similar to KG’s in that he tends to wait for the mid-range kick out pass, rather than clogging the paint.

Sullinger on the other hand is an aggressive rebounder. He knows his role, and is always waiting to establish position in the paint. Regardless of whether it’s a pass or a shot attempt, expect him to be ready.

Of course, it’s still the preseason and things are always uncertain. If Sullinger continues to perform this way though, there is no reason why he should not start eventually.

Two uncertainties however exist.

• I’m not sure if Sully possesses the footwork to stay with quick lineups. And by quick lineups, I mean teams like Miami. We’ll have to see how that one turns out come season opener.
• The inherent height disadvantage if the opponent has two sizable big men on the court at the same time. Sully would probably get his shots blocked Baby-style all night long.

What do you reckon, should Bass or Sullinger be at the power forward spot? Sully still has my vote for now, but we all know how things will change – preseason is preseason after all.