One step at a time for Sullinger
If the calendar read March, Jared Sullinger would have played for the Raptors last week or would suit up Wednesday in Detroit.
But it’s only mid-October, so the team’s big free-agent signing is being given ample time to heal from the foot injury suffered when somebody stepped on him in the exhibition opener against Golden State on Oct. 1.
“It feels great. Slowly getting better,” Sullinger said Monday morning.
“It’s still a little sore, but it’s pre-season, it’s early in the season, they don’t really need me right now.”
Sullinger said he tried to return to practice, but kept having setbacks.
“So now I’m just sitting here, doing the bike, doing a lot of lifting. I’m still a part of practice, but just being smart.”
The process has been frustrating for the former Ohio State star and for head coach Dwane Casey as well, since Casey had hoped to see how Sullinger and Jonas Valanciunas worked as a tandem for more than just one contest.
“I just use my imagination,” Casey said with a smile. “Offensively, it wasn’t a problem. He’s going to make us so much better offensively. My concern was our transition defence. Could he and JV get back consistently with teams running on us, drag screens, double drag, could they do it? I’ve seen that. They did it in the first week of training camp and also in the first game. That answered that question with that in mind.
“The regular season is going to be a different animal. It will be a challenge to get him up to the speed of the game more than him fitting in or understanding what he needs to do.”
Conditioning and weight — issues for Sullinger in the past — have not been a concern in Toronto, Casey said.
“He’s been on a regimen, a program the entire summer. He’s done a great job of everything we asked him to do,” Casey said.
Sullinger said he has been asking many questions to learn everything he can, but being on the court is far more beneficial.
So will he play Wednesday or Friday in Washington before the fake games come to an end?
“We’ll see. Right now my main concern is health. It’s pre-season, like I said. I don’t feel the need to, but we’ll see how I feel.”