Scal says KO should play the three.

[primetime]

Depending on who else is on the floor SCAL is HALF RIGHT.  KO can play the 3 on O and 4 on D.  I like him as a true stretch 4 so my preference is a 4 on both ends of the floor since he brings out the defending PF further out on the floor leaving room for drives to the hoops and/or center low post play. 

When we had Green it made more sense to possibly play KO at 3 on O and 4 on D since Green could defend the 4 position.  I don't think Crowder has enough height.

Who on Celts can play 4 on O while defending the 3 on D? 
 

Kevon Looney 

Bass/Crowder

[Tr1boy]

When Mike asked him if he thought Kelly needed to get stronger, Scal responded that he thought Kelly should play small forward.

Does anyone agree with this?

For a while, I've thought this might be an interesting notion.  I think the biggest issue would be defensively, but I feel like it might be worth seeing in small stretches.

On the other hand, it might make more sense to just have him be a "point four" going forward.  The power forward position probably is the spot that gives him the best opportunity to exploit mismatches and not get exploited himself on the other end. 

Either way, I don't think his skills are those of a typical big.  He's more than just a "stretch four" in my opinion.  Kelly Olynyk is a serious threat penetrating off the dribble.  He needs to continue to hone his driving and creating skills to maximize his potential.

whats funny is that Leo Routin who is one of the raptors announcers mentioned the same thing. That he thinks KO can play some SF

[wahz]

I've been saying on here for two years KO is a three. There was another poster who agreed.

I can't at all understand why it's not obvious and why they haven't tried it. He'll evolve to be terrific on offense and like Dirk, the zone can protect him on d, enough.

Their rationale up to now must be that he can't be protected on d with us having no interior d.

[kozlodoev]

I've been saying on here for two years KO is a three. There was another poster who agreed.

I can't at all understand why it's not obvious and why they haven't tried it. He'll evolve to be terrific on offense and like Dirk, the zone can protect him on d, enough.

Their rationale up to now must be that he can't be protected on d with us having no interior d.

It _IS_ quite obvious that he cannot defend the 3. Why doesn't Dirk play the 3, they can't hide him well enough or something? Scal may say whatever his little heart desires, it doesn't mean it's not a dumb thing to say.

[Neurotic Guy]

If Kelly sustains his career as a 20-35 MPG guy over the next few years, he won't need to be quicker, just smarter/ more experienced to be better (hopefully, he can grow to be an adequate team defender).  As far as playing at the '3', I guess it depends on the match-ups. Obviously, quick 3's will get by him like he's standing still.  The key to Kelly will be whether his offensive game can blossom -- an outcome I am not convinced will happen.   He definitely doesn't have a good feel for when he can get his shot off (defender distance), and this may come in time, but for now it makes him less comfortable shooting shots when guys are within five feet of him.  I think he doesn't realize that he is 7-feet tall and that with a slight fadeaway, most guys will not be able to impact his shot.  He has to learn to get his shot off quicker and once this happens, his fakes will cause all sorts of problems for defenders.  I do think he loses the ball too easily and I'm not sure his weak/slow hands can be improved.   This effects his drives and his rebounding in traffic.  He almost NEVER comes up with the ball in a contested rebound unless he is able to tip to an open area and get the ball off the bounce.

I probably root harder for Kelly than any other Celtic because I think if he becomes a serious offensive threat he will be a huge part of this team's future.  But he has been feast or famine and his inconsistency is concerning.

[Who]

As far as playing at the '3', I guess it depends on the match-ups. Obviously, quick 3's will get by him like he's standing still.

It's not just the man-to-man defense. The team defense is going to be dreadful. No way Olynyk can play good transition defense or make timely defensive rotations and close outs on the perimeter.

[KGs Knee]

Scale must have been high on something.

Kelly Olynyk is completely incapable of defending small forwards, and further more, I'm not sure he would be as effective on offense either.

Olynyk is 'zero-calorie' Dirk. 

[Celtics18]

I certainly agree with you guys that Kelly struggles on the defensive end.  He needs to get stronger, tougher, quicker and smarter on that end of the floor.

I do find it interesting, though, that according to NBA.COM only Jae Crowder has a better defensive rating among current Celtics.

I realize that DRTG isn't a perfect measurement of a player's defensive ability--I don't think there's any stat that is--still, though, I think Kelly's number helps to show that his defensive deficiencies, while they surely exist, tend to get overblown quite a bit.

[clover]

I certainly agree with you guys that Kelly struggles on the defensive end.  He needs to get stronger, tougher, quicker and smarter on that end of the floor.

I do find it interesting, though, that according to NBA.COM only Jae Crowder has a better defensive rating among current Celtics.

I realize that DRTG isn't a perfect measurement of a player's defensive ability--I don't think there's any stat that is--still, though, I think Kelly's number helps to show that his defensive deficiencies, while they surely exist, tend to get overblown quite a bit.

Yes--he's a very active help defender, and while still learning in a new position, he's already better than he's given credit for. He's also getting stronger too. Look at how he's built up his upper body the next time you see him play.

[Tr1boy]

Ko highlights vs raps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVxxRbGcY_U

[kozlodoev]

I certainly agree with you guys that Kelly struggles on the defensive end.  He needs to get stronger, tougher, quicker and smarter on that end of the floor.

I do find it interesting, though, that according to NBA.COM only Jae Crowder has a better defensive rating among current Celtics.

I realize that DRTG isn't a perfect measurement of a player's defensive ability--I don't think there's any stat that is--still, though, I think Kelly's number helps to show that his defensive deficiencies, while they surely exist, tend to get overblown quite a bit.

Yes--he's a very active help defender, and while still learning in a new position, he's already better than he's given credit for. He's also getting stronger too. Look at how he's built up his upper body the next time you see him play.

Looks like it's not just Scal that's high on something

[JNCamirand]

Oly is way to slow to guard 3s, and he would hurt our fastbreak game at the 3. Yet he is too weak to guard 4s. Right now hes an awkward 7 foot tweener, kind of like Bargiani.

[kozlodoev]

Ko highlights vs raps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVxxRbGcY_U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnXQsJ8ung8

Wait, I thought we were sharing random highlights of people...

[clover]

When Mike asked him if he thought Kelly needed to get stronger, Scal responded that he thought Kelly should play small forward.

Does anyone agree with this?

For a while, I've thought this might be an interesting notion.  I think the biggest issue would be defensively, but I feel like it might be worth seeing in small stretches.

On the other hand, it might make more sense to just have him be a "point four" going forward.  The power forward position probably is the spot that gives him the best opportunity to exploit mismatches and not get exploited himself on the other end. 

Either way, I don't think his skills are those of a typical big.  He's more than just a "stretch four" in my opinion.  Kelly Olynyk is a serious threat penetrating off the dribble.  He needs to continue to hone his driving and creating skills to maximize his potential.

whats funny is that Leo Routin who is one of the raptors announcers mentioned the same thing. That he thinks KO can play some SF

The opposing media teams probably met before the game to fill each other in about their respective teams.

[footey]

I'm trying to think if there's any precedent for a guy with these sort of physical limitations blossoming into a solid starter.  Drawing a blank thus far.

Larry Bird. Wasn't exactly a great athlete, physically. 

He had a pretty decent career, as I recall.

Bird had incredible balance and coordination that Kelly lacks, as well as those lightening quick hands that someone else mentioned.  It seems like Kelly stumbles and falls down quite a bit when he drives.  Also Bird was much stronger.  He could bang and wouldn't lose his position easily when someone else banged him.

Incredible balance and coordination. C'mon, we're not talking figure skating here.  How can you possibly measure the differences in their respective balance and coordination? 

The real difference between the two is that Bird was supremely confident, and had nerves of steel.  These are mental differences.  The point I was making is that Bird was unimpressive physically.  Slow.  Below average leaper.  Bad one on one defender.  Lacked long arms. But was able to be a great player anyway, despite his physical limitations.