Kelly Olynyk

[mr. dee]

Kelly is so polarizing. Remember the guy similar to him? Jeff Green. One night he looks like a complete goof on the court then he suddenly put up lights out shooting in the next game. If he becomes more consistent like his shooting last season and be more aggressive, I can forgive Danny for missing out on Giannis.

[Celtics18]

Well done, spike!!

[Boris Badenov]

My view is they won't get any better until Olynyk and Zeller are replaced with more athletic, defensive players up front. They take too big a drop defensively when either is in the lineup. When both are in together, it's a disaster. IT's presence is enough of a defensive liability.

The dilemma is Ainge drafted Olynyk, moving up to get him with the Spurs (Pop knows better),and Stevens is in love with Zeller from their Indiana connect. He is also allergic to rebounders. 

We did not trade up with the Spurs.

It was the Mavs... but can someone tell me what gives with Stevens preference on bigs? We had a soft, almost ethereal presence in our frontcourt and its been a staple since he came aboard. Danny never went to free agency for a scrapper, if Stevens wants to preach versatility someone needs to retort with "oh, that thing your current bigs don't bring every night?" Like, where's the beef dude?

Mavs/Spurs, whatever... Sullinger was their best rebounder last couple years. He was no softee on the boards. Big ass presence. I think it was a mistake to let him go and sign Zeller for $8M. Sullinger's stress fracture of his foot kind of bailed Ainge out, but he might be back the 2nd half. The other guy they miss is Turner. He was a versatile player, always plugging holes. They don't have that kind of depth this year.

Come to think of it, we are starting to miss Sully right about now. You think Olynyk can turn out to be worth something at the end of the season? This kid has a lof of Jeff Green in him,

Most logical move is to give his rotation spot to Jaylen next year. I feel like Olynyk never got better than "role player on good team".

Sully hasn't played a game and fell victim to exactly the kind of injury you would predict for a poorly conditioned big man. I don't miss him one bit.

[CelticGuardian]

Kelly is so polarizing. Remember the guy similar to him? Jeff Green. One night he looks like a complete goof on the court then he suddenly put up lights out shooting in the next game. If he becomes more consistent like his shooting last season and be more aggressive, I can forgive Danny for missing out on Giannis.

KO was a solid pick. Danny just didn't make the great pick. I mean it is what it is. He plays too awkward for anyone to expect a star. But I at least wanted KO to crack the lineup this year.

[ThePaintedArea]

My view is they won't get any better until Olynyk and Zeller are replaced with more athletic, defensive players up front. They take too big a drop defensively when either is in the lineup. When both are in together, it's a disaster. IT's presence is enough of a defensive liability.

The dilemma is Ainge drafted Olynyk, moving up to get him with the Spurs (Pop knows better),and Stevens is in love with Zeller from their Indiana connect. He is also allergic to rebounders. 

We did not trade up with the Spurs.

It was the Mavs... but can someone tell me what gives with Stevens preference on bigs? We had a soft, almost ethereal presence in our frontcourt and its been a staple since he came aboard. Danny never went to free agency for a scrapper, if Stevens wants to preach versatility someone needs to retort with "oh, that thing your current bigs don't bring every night?" Like, where's the beef dude?

I'm surprised by this persistent myth, and I'm going to speak very frankly.

It's probably not worth getting into a thing, but let one fact stand for many:

Kelly is currently seventh in the league in charges drawn, PER GAME, in only 21 minutes played. Zeller, incidentally, is 18th. Those guys aren't shot-blockers, but they're protecting the rim in the most physical way you can.  That's among all NBA players, on all teams.

To remind us, drawing a charge means: getting in front of a 240-lb athlete moving at high speed, who is about to put his knee into your solar plexus and knock you on your coccyx. A few seconds later you're going to  get your ass up off the floor, run down to the other end, and set a screen on him.

Kelly works his ass off. He was great tonight!

Played starter's minutes and delivered the game. Great job getting in front of Millsap and drawing a charge, but he contributed in every area.

[Chris22]

If Olynyk would just learn to shoot hook shots with either hand, he would be much better inside.

[liam]

Kelly is so polarizing. Remember the guy similar to him? Jeff Green. One night he looks like a complete goof on the court then he suddenly put up lights out shooting in the next game. If he becomes more consistent like his shooting last season and be more aggressive, I can forgive Danny for missing out on Giannis.

Kelly plays hard every night and his coming off of shoulder surgery. Jeff Green had open heart surgery and missed a year or so and was never the same player again. Lack of confidence in your body can ruin any player. I think if Kelly can stay healthy he'll have a hell of a end of year run and on into the playoffs. All hail Kelly "Arm Ripper" Olynyk!

[Celtics4ever]

He played the first half last night, then kind of was not as impactful.   Overall, I think he had a great game last night but he won't play like that for a while.   I would love to be wrong about that.

Kelly plays hard every night and his coming off of shoulder surgery. Jeff Green had open heart surgery and missed a year or so and was never the same player again. Lack of confidence in your body can ruin any player. I think if Kelly can stay healthy he'll have a hell of a end of year run and on into the playoffs. All hail Kelly "Arm Ripper" Olynyk!

Lack of confidence, can ruin anyone is right and Ainge was right to not extend him to see if he wilted under the pressure of the contract year.  He has not responded as we have hoped overall but did last night.

[hodgy03038]

Best game for Olynyk for the Celtics hands down! Confidence - mixing it up inside - no hesitation on the open shots! Loved it!!

[Chris22]

Kelly has been shooting the ball better lately. Maybe it just takes time to recover from an injury.

[Surferdad]

Best game for Olynyk for the Celtics hands down! Confidence - mixing it up inside - no hesitation on the open shots! Loved it!!

That was a very encouraging sign last night.  He had a few plays where he finished the bunny shot after fronting his man and getting the lob.  He was missing those earlier in the season.  He was hitting the 3 starting early in the game and this helped him inside.

[saltlover]

Kelly has been shooting the ball better lately. Maybe it just takes time to recover from an injury.

Yep, he's been shooting 43% from 3 and 60% from 2 over the last 10 games.

[Neurotic Guy]

He is mercurial.  And Cblog is fickle (me included).   A bad game on Monday (or a bad stretch within the game) and he'll be crucified here. I do like the idea of experimenting with him starting.

[rollie mass]

kelly must have heard tommy i don't know if its two or three games in a row he has used a nice little jump hook-it rolled out against hawks but had me nodding in approval-
get kevin mchale in for a week aa a kelly consultant by the playoff time this could be a very valuable tool

tp chris 22-just read you hook post

[chambers]

The thing is that he doesnt even have to play that well to have a huge impact. It's his shooting ability combined with his passing and ability to guard 4's and 5's.
We just have so much more room for IT to penetrate when he's on the floor.