Poll: Olynyk Will Explode in year 3 Just like college.

[PhoSita]

I think KO is who he is for the most part.

The best we can hope is that he learns to have more of his "assertive" performances as opposed to his passive ones.

But hey, didn't we play that game with Jeff Green the whole time he was here? 

Some guys just don't have the makeup to be a focal point of the game plan each night.  Kelly seems like he's more content to be a role player, and his talents probably are best aligned for that.

[jambr380]

I went with the I don't know option, only because I don't think he will be 'shut down'. I think Kelly may improve slightly, but will most likely continue to consistently produce with however many minutes he gets.

Like others, I would love to see him be a bit more aggressive, but that seems like one of those traits one either has or doesn't. If he somehow does break out of his shell, look for him to be productive because that would mean more minutes. He really does have all the tools, just seems afraid to use them.

[biggs]

Possibly. Here's a list of Centers and Power Forwards that were able to exceed KO's numbers from last year in their third year in the NBA while being roughly the same age. Do any of these look like "explosions" to you?

http://bkref.com/tiny/7eIP6

Thank you. TP for sending me to a link that reminded me that Bryant Reeves existed. Big Country!

[Eja117]

This is so not college.  In his case he didn't even play in a major conference. Being a mildly athletic center who is 7ft tall in a mid major conference is not at all comparable to the NBA. Yes he can get better, but so can a lot of other players.

[Celtics4ever]

Mental issues like lacking confidence are sometimes harder to fix than physical ones.

[Boris Badenov]

1. Is he going to take a full year off to work on his conditioning, like he did then?

2. Do we expect that another year off at age 23 would have the same effect on development as the year taken at age 20?

3. If you took every player in the league and whited out a full year from their history at age 20, how many of them would look like they "exploded" between age 19 and age 21?

[guava_wrench]

It is possible that at some point he will make a giant leap on offense. I don't see any reason to expect an enormous jump, but these things are usually hard to predict.

[SHAQATTACK]

Not sure he wants to be the hero .....every night .     If he goes off has a great game ...yeah he is happy .....but he seems content to have a starter hero game just once in a while .....like Jeff Green

I think he ll be a nice 6 or 7 man , but I thinks he is just content with a secondary role . If the game comes easy , then he shines .

Other wise KO is the type to just hide , if it's not his scoring night.

It's the players who force themselves to make an impact . Don't give up if the shot isn't falling .

If their shot is off , they'll do everything else they can to see that the team gets a victory.

This type of player

Is called.        Marcus Smart.

[Csfan1984]

KO will explode and put more people in the clinic. Just like what happened to Love. The foul machine is turning it up. Watch out NBA the arm-bar assassin has heard the pop and now wants to hear it again.

[Forza Juventus]

Hopefully he just continues to improve and stays healthy.

[colincb]

It's his head I worry about more than his abilities. I've seen a lot of things positive about what he can do, but he's got to take the shot when it's there. Defensively he's not as bad as people claim here and he's a (late blooming) big so figure 5 years for that to be where he needs to be (or at least better).

He still seems like a boy playing against men to me and the mental part of the game is big.

[bdm860]

Possibly. Here's a list of Centers and Power Forwards that were able to exceed KO's numbers from last year in their third year in the NBA while being roughly the same age. Do any of these look like "explosions" to you?

http://bkref.com/tiny/7eIP6

So you're saying Olynyk is going to play like Hakeem Olajuwon next season?  Nice. 


Actually, if you expand the search criteria a little and click F-C too, you get a couple of players where it really looks like they did explode in that 3rd year. 

Former Celtic great Pervis Ellison:
10.4 to 20.0 ppg
7.7 to 11.2 rpg
1.3 to 2.9 apg
2.1 to 2.7 bpg
.542 to 574 TS%
15.9 to 19.9 PER

Otis Thorpe too:
9.9 to 18.9 ppg
5.6 to 10.0 rpg
1.1 to 2.5 apg
14.4 to 18.0 PER

But ya, I'm not expecting any kind of similar explosion from Olynyk.

[fairweatherfan]

I think KO is who he is for the most part.

The best we can hope is that he learns to have more of his "assertive" performances as opposed to his passive ones.

But hey, didn't we play that game with Jeff Green the whole time he was here? 

Some guys just don't have the makeup to be a focal point of the game plan each night.  Kelly seems like he's more content to be a role player, and his talents probably are best aligned for that.

Agreed, but his good games have generally looked very good (though they're often quickly forgotten because his bad games look even worse).  It's not really a matter of a major improvement as a player so much as being able to more consistently be effective.  If Kelly can do that it'll look like a major step forward at least. 

[jambr380]

I think one of the major problems with any of our guys 'exploding' is the limited minutes they get. It's not that Brad Stevens is a bad coach - obviously, it's just that the minutes allocation among our players is so even that we may not see all-star production from anybody anytime soon.

[LarBrd33]

I think one of the major problems with any of our guys 'exploding' is the limited minutes they get. It's not that Brad Stevens is a bad coach - obviously, it's just that the minutes allocation among our players is so even that we may not see all-star production from anybody anytime soon.

That became less of an issue as the season progressed and roles became defined.  But clearing up the Bass/Sully/Oly logjam will help.  All three of those guys are more or less on the same level.