Jared Sullinger has produced a pair of single-singles in his last two games.
"It's strictly mental," Sullinger said of his struggles. "I've got to get my mind back on winning basketball games. ... It's not the end of the world. We still have life."
Sullinger, who has picked up at least four fouls in four of his last six games, admitted to thinking about foul calls instead of playing his game.
"I'm always thinking about how can I play, is the ref going to call this foul or that foul?" he said in a 10-minute news conference, admitting his shortcomings and unburdening his worries. "So I'm constantly worried about the refs instead of how I was supposed to play."
Thad Matta had a private discussion with Sullinger.
"He said I haven't been playing the same since. I haven't been as physical. I'm trying to not foul instead of playing defense, and on the offensive end I'm not being as physical as I used to be posting up because I'm scared of what the refs were going to call," Sullinger said. "He said I was playing timid."