Jared Sullinger — A New Year

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By Torey Champagne

When Jared Sullinger came walking through the door for our interview, he was covered in a fresh sweat from his morning workout. His shirt, now a darker shade of green than it was just an hour prior, absorbed the sweat dripping from the brow of his 6-9 frame.

“Do you want to go grab a dry shirt before we do this?”, I asked.

“Nah,” he replied. “Let them see the sweat.”

I couldn’t tell if his reply was accidentally ironic, or if it was a calculated remark. Either way, it was a fitting response.

After sustaining a metatarsal stress fracture that sidelined Sullinger last season, he was put under the proverbial microscope regarding his apparent weight gain. His dedication to staying healthy enough to remain on the court was publicly called into question by Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. It was the second time in just three years with Boston that Sullinger sustained what appeared to be a season-ending injury.

As his Celtics teammates surged towards their first playoff appearance under coach Brad Stevens, Sullinger, who sat at the end of the bench in his suit and walking medical boot ensemble, says he came to a realization.

“It wasn’t just about basketball, or conditioning, or feeling like I needed to get back out there for my teammates.” he recalled. “It was about me as a person. I needed to find a new way of doing things.”

And 24 games later, and 20 pounds lighter, Sullinger was able to return to the lineup in time for the playoff matchup against Cleveland. He had committed himself to a new diet, and training regimen, but his return would be short-lived as LeBron James and the Cavs swept the Celtics in the first round.

Sullinger contemplated his options for the offseason, knowing he could not allow his weight to become the main storyline of his 2015-16 season. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to do this on his own, he headed to Houston to train with former NBA player and coach John Lucas.

“It felt like he put me through an NBA season in the course of a few weeks,” Sullinger said.

It remains to be seen if Sullinger’s time with Lucas will keep him on the court for the entire course of this season, but one aspect of his game has become a focus since returning from Houston. Rebounding.

“None of my teammates are going to be mad at me for rebounding,” he said with a smile. “It’s something that I focused on in the off season. I need to be more aggressive on both ends of the floor.”

Currently, Jared is grabbing 18.1 rebounds per 48 minutes, ranking seventh in the NBA, and 9.5 boards per game, tying him with Greg Monroe of Milwaukee for 11th.

Sullinger used the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face as the interview drew to a close. The last few beads of sweat from a solid effort on the stair climber emerged before he prepared to head off to a film session with the team.

“Losing weight is a pretty common New Year’s resolution. Now that you feel like you have your weight and conditioning under control, do you have a New Year’s resolution heading into 2016?” I asked.

“No. Not really.” he said.

He paused, and looked at me for a moment before he began to speak again. This time with a sense of urgency in his voice.

“Scratch that. I do have a resolution. I want to see our team make it to the second round of the playoffs.”

Based on his resolution, he’s going to continue to let everyone see him sweat into the postseason. Let's hope someone got him a dry shirt for Christmas.

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