Can we talk about Olynyk? Is he an elite shooter? Can he be a go-to scorer?

[Surferdad]

To answer the two questions in the thread title, yes Olynyk is quickly becoming an elite shooter.  I seriously doubt he can ever become a "go-to scorer" though.  He doesn't really have the ability to create his own shot.

Ryan Anderson is probably Oly's ceiling. And that is pretty good for a mid-first round pick.

Maybe in terms of production but they are very different players. Olynyk is more versatile and could go farther than Anderson has in this league. 

[LooseCannon]

I don't think KO is elite but I do think he needs to shoot more.  would much rather see him putting up 15-18 shots a game than AB. 

I honestly think it might make more sense for KO to take away shots from Green instead of Bradley.

please elaborate.

IMO, AB is the one with an itchy trigger finger that needs to be dialed back to taking backdoor cuts and open jumpers with minimal dribbling.  I think he takes too many bad (or at least questionable) shots.  I don't consider Green to have that same issue

I'm fine with Bradley's shot selection.

[jwmann2]

Olynyk is an old school center like Kevin Mchale. Not the most athletic guy, not the best ball handler but is just an all around good basketball player that understands the game. As far as being a go to scorer in this league, I would have to say no. More of a role player than a pure scorer if you ask me. He's doing a lot more in this league than Adam Morrison and Pargo ever did after coming out of Gonzaga.

[DarkAzcura]

KO still has a lot to work on.
His full court dribbling = STOP doing it all together.
His dribble drive...stop going in like a wooden indian..ball out in front, no moves, go to the side and post-be big, hold the ball high and look at the defense, or wait for your team.
Be like zeller on rebounding, anticipate and move for it....
DUNK more often....

Sounds like you want a traditional big man for the sake of having a traditional big man. Taking away Olynyk's strengths in the full court and half court with his handle is nonsensical. You may not like the way it looks for whatever reason, but it works well for him and makes him highly unique. Nightmare matchup because of it.

Olynyk is actually on par or better than Zeller when it comes to rebounding percentages so I'm good with that.

[loco_91]

No, and sort of. He's putting up nice numbers, but he'll have to sustain them for more than a few weeks before we can talk about him as 'elite'. He was pretty underwhelming in SL/preseason fwiw. As to whether he can be a go-to scorer, I doubt he'll ever be the #1 option on a good team, but I think he could be a decent 2nd option as a starter. Given our team, I envision him as a 6th man, getting starter minutes in a mostly 3-man big-man rotation. He could be one of the best bigs off the bench in the NBA.

[Tr1boy]

Prob KO's best game offensively in the NBA. Decisive and aggressive. He just needs to control his fouls. That turnaround three after a pass was something i haven't seen since Dirk did it in the past.  Most big guys will have issues guarding him on the dribble. Kevin Love had problems guarding him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h446JG1Jvos

[Celtics4ever]

I just do not see him breaking the D of the other team.   Opportunity scorer, he is good,  as a go to guy I 'm skeptical.

[Snakehead]

It's splitting hairs at some point and really who cares, but again, people keep saying "poor man's Dirk".... his numbers are basically right with Dirk in his second year so far.  Go look at the players 2nd year before you just say "oh poor man's X".

Grain of salt early in the season but I don't see what's so poor.  He seems pretty Dirk esque so far on his trajectory.  Dirk took time to develop. 

Was Dirk a poor man's Dirk in his second year?

[fairweatherfan]

It's splitting hairs at some point and really who cares, but again, people keep saying "poor man's Dirk".... his numbers are basically right with Dirk in his second year so far.  Go look at the players 2nd year before you just say "oh poor man's X".

Grain of salt early in the season but I don't see what's so poor.  He seems pretty Dirk esque so far on his trajectory.  Dirk took time to develop. 

Was Dirk a poor man's Dirk in his second year?

He's 2 years older than Dirk was in his 2nd year.  Dirk was already a legit star at Kelly's age. 

The Per-36s are remarkably similar through 2 years though:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&p1=nowitdi01&y1=2000&p2=olynyke01&y2=2015

[Snakehead]

It's splitting hairs at some point and really who cares, but again, people keep saying "poor man's Dirk".... his numbers are basically right with Dirk in his second year so far.  Go look at the players 2nd year before you just say "oh poor man's X".

Grain of salt early in the season but I don't see what's so poor.  He seems pretty Dirk esque so far on his trajectory.  Dirk took time to develop. 

Was Dirk a poor man's Dirk in his second year?

He's 2 years older than Dirk was in his 2nd year.  Dirk was already a legit star at Kelly's age. 

The Per-36s are remarkably similar through 2 years though:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&p1=nowitdi01&y1=2000&p2=olynyke01&y2=2015

Fair enough on the age... I put more stock in years in the league, especially going into your second.  That should be a big development year for any player.

[D.o.s.]

Olynyk is an old school center like Kevin Mchale. Not the most athletic guy, not the best ball handler but is just an all around good basketball player that understands the game. As far as being a go to scorer in this league, I would have to say no. More of a role player than a pure scorer if you ask me. He's doing a lot more in this league than Adam Morrison and Pargo ever did after coming out of Gonzaga.

An old school center... that's secretly a power forward who has three point range. Classic archetype, very common n the 70's and 80's.

[Snakehead]

Olynyk is an old school center like Kevin Mchale. Not the most athletic guy, not the best ball handler but is just an all around good basketball player that understands the game. As far as being a go to scorer in this league, I would have to say no. More of a role player than a pure scorer if you ask me. He's doing a lot more in this league than Adam Morrison and Pargo ever did after coming out of Gonzaga.

An old school center... that's secretly a power forward who has three point range. Classic archetype, very common n the 70's and 80's.

This thread is cracking me up.

[CFAN38]

You basically nailed it in your last paragraph - Olynyk deserves to play with a defensive-oriented center. Unfortunately, that also means moving Sullinger. While I really like both of them, Olynyk seems to do more within the flow of the game. Also, as you have pointed out, his entire history suggests that he should at least continue to be an above average shooter/scorer throughout his career. This doesn't mean he will reach superstar or even star status, but he has been unbelievably consistent. The fact that he is rebounding at a decent rate and is a fantastic playmaker out of the high post is just a bonus.

Sully has proven more so far and may even be a more successful player in the NBA, but both of these guys are worthy of starting, just not on the same team (the 108 ppg given up is proof of that). This team would be so awesome with a DeAndre Jordan type of center.

I agree with your post

I have said for a while I think KO is going to be at his best as a great 6th man. To give an example lets say a few more seasons Sully and KO contunie to grow as players and improve their averages.

This year

Sully 22yr old 31mpg 15pts 9rb, KO 23yr old 28mpg 14pts 6.5rb

Projected future (based on my guess)

Sully 24yr old 34mpg 18pts 10rb, KO 25yr old 32mpg 16pt 8rb

That will give the Cs two bigs with fridge all star stat lines. This also leaves 30mpg left for a 3rd big man. A player in the mold of Asik (currently 27mpg 9pts 10rb), or R Lopez (28mpg 12pt 7rb) would neatly fit in as the defensive anchor (Cauley-Stein could be a fit in the draft). This would allow the Cs to start the defensive big. Making KO the 6th man and focal point of the second O. At the end of games the Cs will have the luxury of playing two offensively dynamic bigs to close out games. The roles are different but its a similare idea to the Bulls 3 bigs of Noah, Gasol and Gibson. Three starting level bigs all getting nearly 30mpg.

 I also like the same rotation idea in the back court. That could be a way to make Rondo, AB and Smart work long term.   

[snively]

He reminds me of Mike Miller.  Extremely efficient and versatile, but not a guy who likes to shoot as much as his skillset would warrant.

[Evantime34]

Olynyk getting some love in Howard Beck's post on the C's

And then there is Olynyk, the lean, lithe 7-footer drafted with the 13th pick in 2013. Olynyk is shooting a team-high .478 from three-point range, .592 overall and averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds. Team officials consider him a future star.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2272893-rajon-rondos-resurgence-leaves-rebuilding-celtics-with-some-tough-decisions?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=web-des-art-top-176

Not sure about him being a future star, but that the front office feels that way is comforting (or at least that they think they can trick another team into thinking he's a star)