Jared Sullinger may start for Celtics, says Doc Rivers

Rookie Jared Sullinger may start for the Celtics. (Roberto Serra/Iguana Press/Getty Images)

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers admitted that the team could see three "transitional" starting lineups at certain points this season and, according to The Boston Herald, one of them would feature rookie Jared Sullinger, the once-highly-touted forward out of Ohio State who slipped to the No. 21 pick in the NBA Draft because of lingering back problems.

Rivers said Sullinger is one of the Celtics' best rebounders, thinks like a veteran and is a great passer, and point guard Rajon Rondo called him the smartest rookie that he's seen in his seven years with the Celtics. But Rivers cautioned against reading into the possibility of Sullinger starting as anything more than an experiment:

“I’m going to try it a couple of games,” Rivers said of Sullinger starting, “and then I’ll throw Brandon in and I’ll throw Darko in a couple times. So you can read into it whatever you want, but there’s been no decisions made on anything now.”

In a recent trip overseas, Sullinger played in two games against Turkey, tallying 25 points and 15 rebounds in 37 minutes.