It's time for Kelly Olynyk to be playing 35 minutes per game.

Olynyk has been improving as the season has gone.The kid has become more confortable playing defense and his offense has been improving.

His improvement has been a bright spot this season. He's still got a long way to go, but he's starting to "get it."

I don't know about 35 mpg, that's quite a few even for a starter, but he definitely needs steady, consistent minutes per game. I'd be happy with 25 or so. Veterans have trouble when their minutes yo-yo, it's much harder on rookies.


bob


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The best way to develop a player is with playing time and Olynyk is not like a classic rookie.We are talking about a rookie with 5 years in college.Michael Carter is playing 34.6 and Victor Oladipo 32.0.

KO has been playing much better especially on offense which I think has become easier because of Rondo.

I do not see him playing 35 per game. His defense is still lacking. It is encouraging to see him making steady progress and you can tell there is less hesitation. His rebounding has also improved because he is establishing better position and his anticipation is better.

He still has a ton of work to do. He needs to get much stronger, add a few tats and bring a little thug into the game.

dboss

I've practically given up on Kelly a couple of times; but, each time, he has risen to another levels. Admittedly, the levels represent tiny steps, but at least they're going upward.

Unfortunately, this is a somewhat dysfunctional team, largely because of its imbalance. Veterans can cope with that because they know what a functional team can be like, and they know that necessary adjustments aren't necessarily a way of life. But Kelly hasn't yet had that experience in the pros.

One thing to keep in mind is that just putting in time on the floor does not automatically make a player better unless he's learning good habits. So I'm not certain whether playing more on a bad team will be good for Kelly or will just solidify bad habits on his part. One thing he's got going for him is intelligence. He seems to have an instinct for doing what will make him better. And I suspect he'll be eager to adapt to what will hopefully be an improved team next fall.

One thing that could be really good for him is to attend a big man camp like Pete Newell's in the summer. I know Pete died a few years (2009 I think), and his camp was canceled in 2012, and I don't know if it operated last summer or will be operating in 2014.

But I'd be delighted even to have someone like Dave Cowens show him the ropes on a consistent basis this summer. It was Dave who was talking about the fact that Kelly needs to learn how to develop leverage—using his body better—even more than he needs to become stronger. It seems to me that Kelly suffers from a high center of gravity—almost the exact opposite of Sully. Now that I think more and more about it, I think a summer spent with Cowens would be ideal for Kelly and would get him some real momentum going into next season.

Sam

Sam

KO has surprised me of late.  If you recall he started off the year looking pretty good until his weaknesses were exposed.

But he is a smart kid and has managed to figure out a few things.  I am not saying that he has a high ceiling.  But he can be developed.  As you mentioned a big man coach could be very helpful.

I think he is developing into a high post center.  That works when he is knocking down some  shots.  Lately he has been doing that plus using ball fakes and his ball handling skills to get to the rim.  Making outside shots always seems to open up drives to the hoop.  the great thing about Rondo is that he can run the pick and role and pick and pop with all of his bigs and I think his timing just makes it easier for guys like KO to catch and shoot.

In general the Celtics are developing several players at the same time.  KO is part of that group.

He has a chance to work on his game this season and go into the off season with determination and confidence.

I have put him on my do not trade list..at least for a while.

dboss

My philosophy on minutes as it pertains to an up-tempo game is everyone may play fewer minutes, but minutes should be more evenly distributed.

The Celtics need to get to running more, which actually can help Kelly because he can get going on the break pretty well for someone his size.



KJ

Dboss, I don't believe a high post center needs to have a lot of bulk on offense, which would support your theory. Also, he and Sully work pretty well together and, at least lately (until Sully went out) have exhibited—in combination—the most effective rim protection of any other alternatives the Celtics have. Sully and Kelly have worked together to pool their strongest respective assets (Sully's big butt and general toughness and Kelly's height to form a pretty respectable duo on defense (although they're both got a long way to go individually). Moreover, they would be one of the smartest big men teams and one of the best-passing big man teams out of the low post and high post respectivetly. And Kelly must have been working on his mid-range shot, as it is improved recently.

Don't look now, but Kelly has been gradually improving his rebounding. He currently ranks a very close third among Celtics rotation players in number of rebounds per minute (behind Sully and Humphries). And Kelly's ahead of Humph and pushing Sully for #1 on the team in offensive rebounds per minute.

One thing about Kelly that may fly under the radar is that he has had to work and improve his game at the same time the team has gone downhill in dramatic fashion. That's not an easy proposition when you can't feed off the energy the team gets from being a winning culture.

So Kelly definitely belongs on the list of major glimmers at the present time. And I wouldn't trade him either (with the usual caveat involving a Garnett-type trade).

Sam