Does KO have mentality to succeed?

[littleteapot]

And when someone is running him off the line, he has to ability to get to the rim. Too often when this happens I see him trying to get around defenders instead of take the contact and get to the line which, I think, would be beneficial.

I agree. I think in general KO needs to simplify his game. Get guys open, take open jump shots whenever you can, pass to open teammates, and get in the lane when they give you the opportunity. I think he gets caught up in all these weird moves and that's where the pump fake pivot pump fake pump fake missed turnaround comes from. He needs to always look for easy baskets for himself or teammates first.

[The Oracle]

  When you have a coach who is constantly screwing with his minutes, changing his usage and who he is playing with, sometimes running plays for him and sometimes not along with many other things it will screw with anyone.  For whatever reason Brad is continuously placing him in spots where he is much less likely to be successful.  People constantly harp on his inconsistency when a lot of it is on Brad Stevens and the Celtics agenda that is creating it.

Tough crap this is the NBA. If you aren't one of the most talented players, you have to show your ability with inconsistent minutes and role before you get a consistent role. If the coach doesn't think he has a good matchup with Olynyk, he's got a lot of other options to choose from - is he just supposed to trot out his guys and not actually coach the team?

Who are these bad matchups for big men who space the floor really well, shoot well, can  put the ball on the floor and are good passers on the offensive end?  When you throw in that he can now also at least play above average defense there are literally no bad matchups for such a player.  If there are I can't think of them and it is why the NBA is moving in a direction where you would want all your big men to be able to stretch the floor if possible.  The thing is its not possible because there just aren't many bigs that possess these traits. 
  It's going to be funny when the Celtics finally have the right pieces in place and stomp on the gas.  People are going to realize just how wrong they were about him and players like him.  The value in having bigs who can do what he does despite his faults is real and people are going to have to eat a lot of crow!

[littleteapot]

Who are these bad matchups for big men who space the floor really well, shoot well, can  put the ball on the floor and are good passers on the offensive end?

Guys who can score or get offensive boards on him. Guys who aren't great rim protectors but do something else that Olynyk can't really stop.

[The Oracle]

Who are these bad matchups for big men who space the floor really well, shoot well, can  put the ball on the floor and are good passers on the offensive end?

Guys who can score or get offensive boards on him. Guys who aren't great rim protectors but do something else that Olynyk can't really stop.

Just for fun (as I have no intention of arguing over this) name 1 player any player that you think is a bad matchup and I will explain why they are not. Or better yet name any teams big man pairing.

[Rosco917]

Not really, he's a nice kid, he'll always be tease. He'll score 20 points one game, and 6 points the next five games after. Unfortunately he not of very much use on the other end of the court. Kelly has no alpha dog mentality.

[SHAQATTACK]

Maybe

[Celtics18]

This is why I don't want to give up on Kelly.  The questions don't seem to be about whether or not he has the talent level to succeed.

He's still young enough and inexperienced enough where I believe that he has the potential to become a more consistently confident player.

Once/if that happens, he has the skills to be really good.

[BornReady]

I second that olynyk needs to work on his post game and operating in the mid range area
As it would make him more of a threat offensively

I don't really mind his poor defence as he doesn't have the tools to be a shot blocker
But he still should be able to get better positioning and contest shots

I'm more concerned about his rebounding numbers

[CelticPride2016]

Maybe

I agree. He was literally a late bloomer. While Sully thinks an NBA starter can get by with a fat gut, Olynyk continues to lift weights and grow into a modern day center's body. Olynyk deserves a couple more years of pure participation as a rotational player. It can't be easy for him currently being stuck with David Lee. The team as a whole has been slumping. We are built to win at a higher rate as the year continues. Last year we were 14 under at one point.

Here is an idea, Brad Stevens. Bench Lee and try Zeller. Or try Jordan Mickey. I say put a fork in Lee. He will have a couple good games every ten making me look bad, but I take the other eight games.

[Johnny Mic]

Olynyk's biggest problem is the leash Brad and Danny keep him on.  We need to move some players so in the meantime, KOs usage will be down.

[littleteapot]

Who are these bad matchups for big men who space the floor really well, shoot well, can  put the ball on the floor and are good passers on the offensive end?

Guys who can score or get offensive boards on him. Guys who aren't great rim protectors but do something else that Olynyk can't really stop.

Just for fun (as I have no intention of arguing over this) name 1 player any player that you think is a bad matchup and I will explain why they are not. Or better yet name any teams big man pairing.

OK well the one game he played less than 10 minutes was against the Heat on November 30, and I completely agree with his minutes in that game - I don't want him to get extended time on the floor at when either Chris Bosh or Josh McRoberts can attack him.

[nickagneta]

I have never gotten the love for Olynyk on this site. He's a good shooter that can be streaky, is a too passer, and has a great handle for a big man. But, he is a big man that is a bad rebounder(and getting worse every year), is not a rim protector, is not gifted athletically, has only now gotten to the point where his defense is decent overall, is inconsistent, shows confidence problems and for his usage rate turns the ball over more than.

It's hard to argue he is really all that much better now than he was when he came into the league. He
Has probably reached his ceiling as a role playing offensive oriented big man. He is probably getting as much playing time as he deserves and come playoff time will probably see limited action again because the playoffs are a more physical beans of ball that Olynyk has major problems with.

I think people just need to accept that Olynyk is what he is and isn't suddenly going to materialize into something much better. He's a decent piece to have, nothing more.

[mgent]

I don't think people realize how low down KO is on the totem pole.

Do you really expect him to just start playing around with the ball in isolation, or call for a screen, the way IT or Turner do?

He has to play like a big man and run our offense.  Eventually he'll get his shot to show what he's got as a major piece, but today's not that day.  It goes those two, Bradley, Crowder, Sully, Lee, Johnson, THEN Kelly.  He's 8th in terms of the pecking order, maybe even lower than Marcus seeing as how he was picked 6th.

There's nothing AT ALL about KO's mentality that suggests he wouldn't be aggressive as hell and try to score 30 ppg if he was the leader on a team of younger players.

You don't have to look any further than Avery Bradley to find a kid who was an offensive liability and looked scared to have the ball when on a team with 4 hall of famers plus a top 3/mvp vote getting PG, who then grew up to be a great offensive player on a team where he's considered a leader and veteran (also the longest tenured Celtic).

Considering how much better KO has started out compared to Avery, I don't think you can be so closed-minded.

[Neurotic Guy]

I don't think people realize how low down KO is on the totem pole.

Do you really expect him to just start playing around with the ball in isolation, or call for a screen, the way IT or Turner do?

He has to play like a big man and run our offense.  Eventually he'll get his shot to show what he's got as a major piece, but today's not that day.  It goes those two, Bradley, Crowder, Sully, Lee, Johnson, THEN Kelly.  He's 8th in terms of the pecking order, maybe even lower than Marcus seeing as how he was picked 6th.

There's nothing AT ALL about KO's mentality that suggests he wouldn't be aggressive as hell and try to score 30 ppg if he was the leader on a team of younger players.

You don't have to look any further than Avery Bradley to find a kid who was an offensive liability and looked scared to have the ball when on a team with 4 hall of famers plus a top 3/mvp vote getting PG, who then grew up to be a great offensive player on a team where he's considered a leader and veteran (also the longest tenured Celtic).

Considering how much better KO has started out compared to Avery, I don't think you can be so closed-minded.

I disagree that KO started his career better (no less "much better") than AB.  Avery was much younger as a rookie (Avery is only 5 months older than Kelly), and in Year 3 Avery was considered a top defender and was scoring nearly 10 ppg.   24 year old Kelly is averaging 9 points and 3.6 rebounds as a 3rd year guy with his minutes diminishing in his 3rd year. 

I still would not consider AB a "great offensive player" though he's had an all-star worthy month or so.   

I really like Kelly, but I concerned that he can't sustain consistent quality play.  And since AB has been mentioned, Avery has been disappearing offensively for very long stretches lately.  I don't think he took a shot in the 2nd half of the Atlanta game.

[The Oracle]

Who are these bad matchups for big men who space the floor really well, shoot well, can  put the ball on the floor and are good passers on the offensive end?

Guys who can score or get offensive boards on him. Guys who aren't great rim protectors but do something else that Olynyk can't really stop.

Just for fun (as I have no intention of arguing over this) name 1 player any player that you think is a bad matchup and I will explain why they are not. Or better yet name any teams big man pairing.

OK well the one game he played less than 10 minutes was against the Heat on November 30, and I completely agree with his minutes in that game - I don't want him to get extended time on the floor at when either Chris Bosh or Josh McRoberts can attack him.

The Celtics got killed in the minutes K.O. was on the floor in that game.  But this game is a great example of how K.O. gets blamed for other players crappy defense.  K.O. actually shared the court with McBob the entire time he was on the floor and shared the court with Bosh for 7 minutes.  Bosh torched David Lee, took Amir off the dribble once, got fouled and made 2 FT's on Jerebko and scored 12 points while K.O. was on the floor.  None of these points were scored on him except a possession at the start of the 4th qtr. where Lee gets beat badly by Bosh and K.O. comes over from the weak side and forces him baseline and makes a great layup from behind the hoop(the only bucket K.O. is marked for in this game).  McBob scored 2 pts. a jumper on Lee during the minutes K.O. was on the floor. There was some horrible defense played while he was on the floor by I.T. and Lee.  K.O. guarded McBob most of the time with a few possessions defending Winslow and played very solid defense.
 
  K.O. defends the perimeter very well!  There should be no fear at all with him defending Bosh or McBob.