Is KO trending up?

[walker834]

I really liked KO when we drafted him.  Ainge finds these guys.  He kind of fell through the cracks a bit.  I got sick of writing posts saying KO was a future allstar myself and no one seeing what I was and actually just not seeing anything at all i was.  He then levelled off in my mind after watching him the last several years and sort of fell out of favor for me.  I just didn't know what I saw in him.

Then Tommy compared him to Dirk and I watched him recently and I saw that something in him again.  Just something big. Bigger than I thought originally even.

Maybe it's the hallucinations but I don't think so.

[walker834]

Here's a good video of KO vs Kaminsky another similar player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FStK6jqrZFY

KO still has a ways to go but I like how he's moving his feet at times now and just looks more confident. He reminds me of Avatar the movie though. I don't know why.  He has to play with a bit more something. A bit more force. He gets a bit out of control at times and looks awkward. He lacks that supreme confidence of a man and just still doesn't play with much of a mean streak.

[crimson_stallion]

I've always liked Olynyk.

I don't think he has All-Star potential by any means, although I also wouldn't say that it's completely out of the realm of possibility.

KO is one of those guys who I think has a lot more potential than people realise.  People tend to associate 'potential' with physical attributes - like athleticism, vertical, height, wingspan, etc. 

With Olynyk, I base his potential on his skills and natural instincts.  He has superior basketball IQ, and his offensive talents are off the charts - he's yet to achieve great levels of consistency, but there are few players on this team who can go on a scoring tear the way Olynyk has on many occasions.  He's one of those guys who is perfectly capable of scoring 10 points in 3 minutes, and he's done it so many times. 

If Kelly ever develops a dependable post game and a more aggressive offensive mindset, he'd be very nearly unguardable.

[walker834]

I feel like KO could be a real late bloomer who lasts a long time once he plays with the supreme confidence  and really gets his footwork in check.  Bringing in a guy like Mchale to work with him could do wonders.

[MJohnnyboy]

His defense has been much better this season and he has had stretches of terrific all-around play. He's one of the few guys on this team I 100% see the Celtics keeping long-term because of what he brings to the table. Advanced metrics show that the Celtics are better with him on the court then without. The Dallas game was a great example of that. Everyone was negative in the +/- except KO, who was +27, which means every time he was on the court, the Celtics played much better.

I don't know what his ceiling is but I'd say right now KO looks like an indispensable role player. He's one of the very few bigs who spaces the floor and is an expert passer for his size. I really wish he was a better rebounder for his size but you can't have everything I guess.

[walker834]

We forget a lot of these aren't 4 year college players. KO was I think but he's still 24 and Mchale himself took a while and was a 6th man for a bit and really didn't come into his own right away.  It took  him a bit to get that  kind of skill.

Mchale kind of outlasted Bird and Parish here because he was a late bloomer like that and was so skill based. He didn't have the same mileage those guys did.

[Chief]

No

[walker834]

No

he is in my  head. I think Tommy is right that his ability is rare.  I remember when we drafted him people were saying he's  just a big who can shoot and there are tons of players like that.  But I actually see something more in him.  Mchale was a ridiculous post player who could range out and hit a 3 on occasion.  Bird was a ridiculously skilled post player who could range out quite a bit and pass the ball.  KO is kind of all of that without the skill or  mindset of those guys.  But he has that kind of ability and talent to be very good.

He needs to learn and grow that kind of skill and mindset is all. neither bird or mchale were great athletes.  They were superiorly skilled players with great mindsets and the ability to do what they did.

KO has that ability.  He doesn't have the skillset or mindset yet. He'll probably never reach those guys as far as skill and mindset but if he works at it his ability is very high.

He's kind of playing in a bubble right now and just coming along slowly is all.

[walker834]

I don't think KO has to be as skilled as mchale anyways or bird in todays game.  HE doesn't need to take his game to that next level with ridculous up and unders and crazy skill like that.  I think his ability is good enough where he gets some quick shots inside and starts hitting 3's with confidence and moving the ball. And playing defense he'll be fine.

Mchale had to adapt his game and was competive and the game was in the 80's he had to add extra wrinkles to his game every year.  I think KO is talented enough where he just needs to get a few safe zone shots and he will dominate in todays game.

The competition is not what it once was.

[BornReady]

Yes and no

He's value has gone up in the league
As he has been knocking down 3P by taking advantage of the mismatch
He's defense has definitely  gotten better

But I feel like he should improve he's rebounding

[flybono]

He is a Good bench reserve. Again, he is not a consistent shooter and zero inside game. You can't teach being 'aggressive" you either have it like a Lebron or you don't..

[walker834]

I don't know i'm startng to see KO move around more and be more active and starting to find his pet shots.  I think ability wise I'd be disapointed if he's just a reserve. He really has the  ability to be hte prototypical new age Big man.

I think he has t he ability to just as good as Isaiah if not better if he is a reserve.

[Neurotic Guy]

Mercurial.  But generally the trend is up.  But frustratingly slow trend.

[crimson_stallion]

He is a Good bench reserve. Again, he is not a consistent shooter and zero inside game. You can't teach being 'aggressive" you either have it like a Lebron or you don't..

I hope you mean zero post game, because Kelly Olynyk has an outstanding inside game.  In fact, the majority of Olynyk's offense actually comes from inside the paint.

So far over his career, more than one third (37%) of all KO's FGA have come from inside 3 feet (compared to 30% of his shots coming from three, 20% coming from midrange and 12% coming from 3-10 feet) and he's shot 66% on those attempts. 

That's not just good, that's elite. 

For comparison purposes:
* Kevin Love for his career has taken 32% of shots inside 3 feet, and shot 59% on those shots
* Greg Monroe for his career has taken 57% of shots inside 3 feet, and shot 62% on those shots
* Al Jefferson for his career has taken 32% of shots inside 3 feet, and shot 66% on those shots
* Zach Randolph has taken 37% of shots inside 3 feet, and shot 59% on those shots
* Pau Gasol has taken 37% of shots inside 3 feet, and shot 66% on those shots
* Tim Duncan has taken 31% of shots inside 3 feet, and shot 69% on those shots

Those 6 guys are typically perceived as some of the best inside scorers of this generation, yet Duncan is the only guy on that list with significantly better career inside scoring numbers than Olynyk.

He's consistent too.  Olynyk so far has not had a single season in which he's taken less than 35% of his shots inside 3 feet.  Nor has he had a single season in which he's shot worst than 64% inside 3 feet. 

He isn't your traditional back-to-the-basket power big, but don't let that fool you.  There are few players on this team (and few players in this league) who finish around the basket as well as Olynyk does.

Luckily for us, we have one who does on our very roster.  Amir Johnson has taken 53% of his career field goals inside 3 feet, and has shot an incredible 71% from there.  He's also an 11 year pro, with 626 career games played, so it's not like it's a small sample size.  Without a doubt one of the best inside finishers in the game today.

No wonder we play so with with Amir + Kelly on the court together!

[walker834]

The bounce is real people. The bounce is real. KO is going to be a stud.