Sullinger Unhappy With Celtics' Effort On Glass
BOSTON (CBS) -- Jared Sullinger was pretty unhappy with the Celtics' efforts on the glass in Wednesday night's loss to the Indiana Pacers.
"It kind of boils down to the first 36 minutes. We didn't rebound the basketball and they got a lot of open shots," Sullinger said after the 102-91 defeat. "They got guys going just because we didn't rebound the basketball. It's two games we've played the Pacers and they've kicked our ass on the offensive glass. We have to do better as a team."
Sullinger wouldn't blame Boston's small lineup for their rebounding woes.
"It's a team thing. There are five guys out there playing basketball. It's a team thing. We have to have that grit and that grind. There are times when we're small out there, and to win games we have to do the little things," he said. "It's having more aggression to get the ball. There were a lot of times we had the ball, and as we brought it down someone was popping it out of our hands. Me included. We have to be more aggressive, we have to treat the ball like gold. You can't let anyone take your cookies."
The Pacers out-rebounded Boston 41-36 on Wednesday night, with a 10-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Last week the Pacers pulled down 53 boards to Boston's 49 in a 100-98 win in Indy, with a 21-15 edge on the offensive glass.
After having some fun with Sullinger bringing up cookies, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones disagreed with the forward's assessment of Wednesday night's loss. He pointed to Boston's abysmal shooting as the reason Indiana had such an advantage on the boards.
"You know why they were out-rebounded 41-36, and Indiana had 10 offensive rebounds? Because [the Celtics] can't make a shot at the other end. When you shoot 41 percent there are a lot of rebounds for the other team to grab," said Jones, noting Boston's 41 percent shooting in the game. "You can't just look at the box score and say, 'We got out-rebounded tonight, we have to do a better job rebounding. Don't take my cookies or take my gold!' You can't shoot! There are a lot more misses when you can't put the ball in the hoop."
Rich Keefe pointed out that Boston was a dreadful 4-for-24 from three-point range on Wednesday.
"Those rebounds are going everywhere," Keefe said. "You don't even have to be in the right position. You have to get on the ball; that's a ton of rebounds to be had.
"There are nights when you can look at the rebounding, but I didn't feel that [Wednesday night]," said Keefe.