Based on 3 preseason games, what do we think of Olynyk?

[Boris Badenov]

Lots of good comments.  I had forgotten about the Plantar Fasciitis.  Rookie or not though, I don't understand why he didn't come into training camp having lifted weights or whatever.  What could he have possibly been thinking to convince himself that he would be fine as he is?

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=67365.0

[Tr1boy]

Olynyk so far for me

- Underrated defender. Had a nice block shot yesterday.  Moves his feet well and spins/rotates his body without fuss for a 7 ft tall player. 

- Offensively he is still trying to figure things out, as well as other players figuring out how to get it to his "spot". His spot is on top of the FT line, traffic around the area or not. Just give him the ball and he can do alot of different things.

- Excellent passing big man, but right now overpassing and some passes are turning into turnovers.

- Jump shot looked good yesterday.  And the best sign is, in the 4th quarter where he was playing close 8 minute straight, he made a jump shot while his face was red from working hard.  This is an indication of a quality player

- IQ, Motor and size is his staple above everything else.

- His first big goal would be to build a better body to be a better rebounder and able to score on the post.  Second cut down on turnovers. He will be a good player either starting or being the first one off the bench for a long time to come

[danglertx]

I'll throw my two cents in here.  What I've seen so far is a guy who still doesn't feel like he belongs yet.  It will come and he will play a bit faster on offense.

Right now he looks to pass too much.  I think that will change.  He is going to get a lot of open looks from KG range out to the 3pt line.

Defensively I thought his on ball defense has been decent.  His help defense has been lacking.  He seems like a smart player who will pick up the defensive rotations but he will never be a shot blocking help defender.  He does have quick hands and will get a lot of steals for a big.  He needs to play with other good to great defenders or it is going to be ugly defensively.

Offensively he is still felling his way.  I think he has the ball handling, shooting touch, and feel for the game so that he will eventually develop some reliable one too two dribble moves that will free him up for open looks that will make him an offensive force but it might take awhile.

He is an NBA passer right now.  Sees angles well and delivers the ball on time to other players.

He runs well on the offensive break and finishes remarkably well for a guy who isn't throwing it down.  He has a very long stride and jumps horizontally to free himself for layups that he routinely hits at full speed.  That is going to be very hard to block.

Great hands.

[BballTim]

Lots of good comments.  I had forgotten about the Plantar Fasciitis.  Rookie or not though, I don't understand why he didn't come into training camp having lifted weights or whatever.  What could he have possibly been thinking to convince himself that he would be fine as he is?

  Again, I think working with the trainer for a year and following an off-season regimen given to him by a Celts trainer will make a difference. I don't think he's in horribly bad shape for a rookie.

[coco]

I think game 3 was his best yet.  Game 2 not so much.  He'll have his shot against the Knicks again tonight.  He is adjusting which is more than I can say for 99% of the rookies coming in.

Passed up an open 15ftr giving Wallace an open 3ptr.  I don't know if he knows it yet but he is a better shooter than Wallace is.....

His defense isn't as bad as I thought.  He should be ok.  He has amazing nose for lose balls near the basket.

...he'll learn.

[hpantazo]

He looks tentative on both ends of the floor, is a good passer but passes too much and sometimes forces passes leading to turnovers. He needs to get more aggressive overall, actually the whole team besides Pressy, Wallace, and Sullinger needs to get more aggressive.

[aingeforthree]

He's passing up shots he can make.  Just needs time and experience in the league.

The tools are there to be a very good player in the league for 10 + years.

[Tr1boy]

for those that missed the game last night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0r3doPlmGk

He is getting comfortable. I like the play at 1:00 where he finishes in transition. Love his hustle. He is always running. I also like the last play, the pick and pop. Could be his bread and butter

[lon3lytoaster]

He's show moments of good defense, I think but is a long ways off from being consistent on that end. Shooting touch hasn't really been there much, and hadn't even looked for his shot much prior to last night. Would still like to see him in some iso's and in the post. Body needs a lot of work, too. Passing and instincts are very much present though.

[Tr1boy]

He's show moments of good defense, I think but is a long ways off from being consistent on that end. Shooting touch hasn't really been there much, and hadn't even looked for his shot much prior to last night. Would still like to see him in some iso's and in the post. Body needs a lot of work, too. Passing and instincts are very much present though.

can you explain why he has ways to go on the defensive end??

i couldn't disagree more. He is just a notch below avg to avg already.  He won't block shots on a regular basis and rebounding needs to get better. But outside of these things, he is active, boxes out, anticipates well, mobile and i don't think i've seen the man he is guarding directly burn him more than a few times.  While its nice if he could be a better help defender, even if he can't be doesn't mean he is a poor defender.   We been spoiled too many years of great defense provided by KG

[Vermont Green]

Lots of good comments.  I had forgotten about the Plantar Fasciitis.  Rookie or not though, I don't understand why he didn't come into training camp having lifted weights or whatever.  What could he have possibly been thinking to convince himself that he would be fine as he is?

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=67365.0

Not sure what you are suggesting with this.  Are you suggesting that all this talk went to his head?  That he will be fine?

[green147]

He works hard and has a high bball iq but is too hesitant and needs to learn to make defenders play his game. He is going to have problem with athletic bigs in general for a while. He needs to be locked in a room for weeks on end lifting weights and watching footage of Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol. If he can follow how they have outsmarted more athletic players throughout their careers, he will be really good.

[Kuberski33]

I don't think he's a great athlete, but he's an NBA player and should have a long career.  Big thing to me is he can stretch the floor at his size which bodes well for playing with Rondo.  Not sure whether he'll ever be a starter on a top level NBA team, but he'd definitely be in the rotation.  Right now he's done nothing to make me think he won't be part of the equation when this team finally gets good again.

[Boris Badenov]

Lots of good comments.  I had forgotten about the Plantar Fasciitis.  Rookie or not though, I don't understand why he didn't come into training camp having lifted weights or whatever.  What could he have possibly been thinking to convince himself that he would be fine as he is?

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=67365.0

Not sure what you are suggesting with this.  Are you suggesting that all this talk went to his head?  That he will be fine?

It was a joke...the idea being that perhaps he'd been spending too much time reading optimistic CB projections.

[lon3lytoaster]

He's show moments of good defense, I think but is a long ways off from being consistent on that end. Shooting touch hasn't really been there much, and hadn't even looked for his shot much prior to last night. Would still like to see him in some iso's and in the post. Body needs a lot of work, too. Passing and instincts are very much present though.

can you explain why he has ways to go on the defensive end??

i couldn't disagree more. He is just a notch below avg to avg already.  He won't block shots on a regular basis and rebounding needs to get better. But outside of these things, he is active, boxes out, anticipates well, mobile and i don't think i've seen the man he is guarding directly burn him more than a few times.  While its nice if he could be a better help defender, even if he can't be doesn't mean he is a poor defender.   We been spoiled too many years of great defense provided by KG

Mediocre foot speed and lateral quickness. He can improve on those things a bit with an NBA training regiment. There were a couple times I remember his man getting by him a little too easy. Maybe "a long ways off" was a bit much, but no, I do think there's things that he can improve, which I expect him to do.