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Sully's Glass-Cleaning Effort Wipes Out Wizards

addByline("Taylor C. Snow", "Celtics.com", "Celtics");

BOSTON – Selfishness is normally considered to be a negative attribute among basketball players.

If you ask Jared Sullinger, however, he will say that's not always the case. At least when it comes to rebounding the ball.

He proudly describes his himself as being “selfish” on the glass, and oddly enough, that approach is leading to wins for his Boston Celtics.

“[I] have a go-get-it mindset when it comes to rebounding,” Sullinger said following Boston’s 111-78 win against the Wizards Friday night. “That’s one thing I’m selfish at is rebounding the basketball, and at the end of the day it only helps our team.”

It certainly helped Friday night when he corralled 15 of Boston’s 58 rebounds en route to its convincing win over Washington.

At first glance, 15 boards is not overly impressive, but when you take into account that he played less than 24 minutes, that tally suddenly becomes quite remarkable.

Six of those rebounds came on the offensive end, which contributed heavily to Boston’s 28-11 advantage in second chance points.

Coach Brad Stevens commended Sullingers rebounding abilities following the win, though he claims Sullinger has been great in that department for as long as he can remember.

“When that ball hits his hands, it sticks,” said Stevens.

But something just seems different – in a good way – this season. Sullinger is averaging 13.7 rebounds per 36 minutes of play. He never cracked more than 10.7 boards per 36 minutes through his first three seasons.

He’s also averaging 4.7 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes. That’s the second highest mark in the league among players who are playing at least 24 minutes per game.

Stevens believes those rebounding improvements have nothing to do with enhanced abilities. He instead credits Sullinger’s refined tendencies around the hoop.

“I think positionally he’s probably better defensively and that’s probably put him in position to better rebound,” said Stevens. “So instead of being a little bit behind the play or maybe above a roller, maybe he’s below a roller and he’s able to keep him off. Or maybe he’s helping early and getting back so that he can block out appropriately so that he can get his hands on it.”

Stevens added, “I just think that as you get more aware, you get more experienced, those things slow down for you about where you should be, and then once you’re where you should be, your talent takes over. And he’s in good defensive position often.”

According to Sullinger, who also scored 18 points Friday night, “When you are in the right defensive position it seems like the rebounds come easier.”

One underlying reason why those rebounds may be coming easier is the fact that the 6-foot-9 big man is in the top shape of his NBA career.

During previous seasons he had gone through numerous bouts of fatigue, which in turn hindered his play on the court.

However, Sully worked tirelessly to slim down and improve his conditioning this summer. That effort paid off; he says he’s never felt better than he does now.

“There’s a lot of times where I went through a drought where I was extremely tired, didn’t feel myself,” Sullinger said of his previous seasons. “Now – it’s just all the hard work I did in the summertime – every night I’m feeling the same way, I’m moving the same way and I’m able to do the same thing.”

Jae Crowder says Sullinger seems different this season in that he is “more focused and locked in on the defensive end.”

He was extremely locked in Friday night. He helped limit Washington’s starting 4 and 5 – Kris Humphries and Marcin Gortat – to just four points combined.

Boston’s admirable communication on the defensive end contributed to that limitation and Sullinger was at the forefront of the vocal leadership.

Being a vocal center is not only beneficial for the bigs; it helps his backcourt teammates as well since Sully has a prime vantage point to bark orders from.

“He made it easier for me,” said Avery Bradley, “and I know he made it easier for Isaiah [Thomas] and the other guards because he was just talking all night.”

Sullinger also made it easier on them because of his incredible presence on the boards. His rebounds on the defensive glass led to offense, and his rebounds on the offensive boards led to second chance points for he and his teammates.

That doesn’t sound selfish in the end, does it?

Certainly not when it leads to colossal wins like the one Sully and the C’s earned Friday night.