In last Thursday's NBA Draft the Celtics went big grabbing Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and Syracuse's Fab(ulously bad student)Melo. Im a fan of both these picks by the Green and really love the fact that they got top 10 talent in the form of Sullinger with the 21st overall pick. How did Sullinger go from a sure fire top 7 pick to number 21 you ask? Being diagnosed with herniated discs (or bulging dicks right Andy Katz?) a few weeks before the draft will do that to you as will an inability to elevate more than 3 inches off the ground. Why am I excited about an undersized big with bulging discs in his back? Because the guy has a legit low post game that he honed at OSU and in the words of Jay Bilas, 'he flat out knows how to play and win.'
Though I'm all aboard the Sullinger bandwagon I'm not too blinded by elation to admit that yes Sullinger has some flaws in his game. For one thing his style of play is better suited for domination in the collegiate game than the NBA game. Due to his lack of vertical ups Sullinger had to, out of necessity, develop a strong inside game with a nice repertoire of moves that would make Kevin 'The Slippery Eel' McHale proud. Sullinger was able to use brute strength to power through college defenders in the NBA that's not an option because there are 2 or 3 guys stronger than him on every team. Sullinger's a tad undersized (6'9"), a little soft in the belly (something I noticed watching his pre draft workout videos. You can see his shirt jiggle a little when he runs around), and he has health concerns. What Sullinger does have going for him is that in 2 years at Ohio State he was a two-time first time All American so he knows how to play the game of basketball a little bit. He knows how to put the ball in the hoop and for 2 years in college he learned how to do it against taller opponents, albeit not stronger, but taller guys with more ups and longer wingspan than he brings to the party. Those are the attributes along with his ability to bring toughness to the interior are why the Celtics did the right thing in taking a flyer on him at the 21st overall pick.
With the NBA being a star driven league most picks outside of the lottery don't end up making too much of a difference so if the Celtics are lucky enough to have Sullinger's back stay healthy and get a good 20 minutes out of him a game where he scoops up some boards and plays tough defense then I consider that a win in my book. If Sullinger can come along nicely during 'accelerated rookie camp' and show that he can contribute right away it allows the Celtics to look into moving another undersized forward who can rebound like an animal in Brandon Bass for a draft pick or possibly another piece to the puzzle.
One last thing on Sullinger, I don't think the comparisons to Kevin Love are inaccurate in any way shape or form. The basis being that coming out of college people though that Kevin Love looked better than he was against inferior college opponents and that he was too unathletic to make it in the league. Kevin Love is a stud and he's always been a stud just watch him play the game of basketball and you can see he's thinking two or three plays ahead of everyone else. Sullinger is no where near that level of player and though I like the kid I'm not putting him in the same ballpark as Love.
After selecting Sullinger out of Ohio State with the 21st pick in the draft the Celtics were fortunate enough to also possess the 22nd pick and grabbed Syracuse big man and academic failure Fab Melo. You know the guy who rose to prominence by flunking off the Orange right before the NCAA tournament sending them from tourney favorite to Elite Eight participant? Yeah, that guy. Fortunately for the Celtics they could care less about his grades and much more about the fact that he's a legit 7 footer who can protect the rim night in and night out. Personally, I'm always a fan of taking a big guy with the potential to be a legitimate shot blocker for years to come.
Last year at Syracuse, Fabricio Paulino de Melo of Brazil averaged 7.8 pts, 5.8 rebounds, and the number that concerns the Celtics 2.9 blocks. Offensively, Melo is far from polished but remember this is a guy who's only been playing basketball since he moved to the States 4 years ago. Plus the Celtics don't need him to score points all they need from him is the ability to guard the 5 and allow Garnett to go back to his comfort zone at the 4. The C's have been looking for someone to take pressure off of Garnett and let him slide back to the 4 for a couple years now with the failed experiments being namely Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal. As long as Melo can adjust to playing man to man defense instead of camping out in the paint Syracuse style I think the Celtics have found themselves a big competent of playing 15-20 minutes a game while collecting a few rebounds and turning away a few shots on the weak side.
Having numbers 21 and 22 in the NBA Draft reeks of guys who never pan out in the league but Mr. Danny Ainge has a pretty good track record of hitting on more than he misses when it comes to late first and early secound round picks. I liked that the Celtics took a good look at themselves in the mirror and realized that their best chance to win and win now was to draft big guys with the potential to play some minutes off the bench right from the get go. I don't know if Sullinger and Melo have enough power to hoist the Celtics to the top of the NBA heap but I do know that I like their odds better than the likes of Jermaine Cunningham and others drafted in the 20's.
For your viewing pleasure Andy Katz affectionately referring to Jared Sullinger's 'herniated discs' diagnosis as a diagnosis of 'bulging dicks' for the big fella.
Geoff Jablonski
