When the Boston Celtics missed out on Kevin Love and some of the big free agent names this offseason, it was clear that they were going to build around their pool of young talent including their 6th overall pick in this year's draft from Oklahoma State Cowboys' point guard Marcus Smart and third year big man Jared Sullinger, who could be heading for a breakout season.
Sullinger, who has reportedly dropped weight this offseason, averaged 13.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 42.7% from the field, 26.9% from beyond the arc and 77.8% from the free throw line in 74 games for the Celtics last season, after missing 37 games in his rookie season due to back injury concerns per FanSided. These are impressive numbers considering how he almost missed his entire rookie transition in the NBA due to injury and how he wasn't ready for training camp last season with concerns of his back. Now that he is in full health and in good condition, Sulllinger is confident that he will be able to show what he can really do in the coming season:
"My biggest thing was health last year. I think I was a little afraid at the beginning of training camp, due to my back, the contact and all of that stuff. I was afraid what was going to happen in the middle of the season. But now I know what I can do, I know my back is going to hold up and, the beautiful thing about it is, that I have another year to show who Jared Sullinger can be." per ESPNBoston
Sullinger was projected to be on the top ten in his draft class if not for the injury concerns according to Basketball Insiders. He had todeal with some rookie year struggles in the NBA along with back pains and conditioning issues but still managed to put up some solid numbers for Boston. His numbers have also consistently improved every season and now that he is back in full health and has developed some confidence with the couple of years he has played in the NBA, a slimmer Jared Sullinger may be heading for a break out season.
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