Celtics Still Thrilled With Olynyk's Upside

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/10/04/celtics-still-thrilled-about-kelly-olynyk-upside/d9j6hsG7E0YHp9bLFnW8TK/story.html?p1=Article_InThisSection_Bottom




Celtics still thrilled about Kelly Olynyk’s upside

Now healthy, his numbers could rise

By Gary Washburn  | GLOBE STAFF   OCTOBER 05, 2014







A different spin during Kelly Olynyk’s second season is that he may have to play some at center. Jim Davis/Globe Staff
JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF







Outside the Celtics organization (especially to Timberwolves coach and general manager Flip Saunders), Kelly Olynyk’s uneven rookie season didn’t exactly elicit excitement and optimism.

There were times when Olynyk struggled, didn’t play with the utmost confidence, and allowed his inconsistent offense to affect his defense. But in the second half of the season, after he recovered from a painful ankle injury, Olynyk began to display his vast potential, encouraging those in the organization.


The Celtics may have not had enough enticing pieces such as Olynyk and Jared Sullinger for Saunders to part with Kevin Love, but the Celtics are thrilled about Olynyk’s upside, especially after a healthy summer.

In 44 games before the All-Star break, Olynyk averaged 6.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 42.8 percent shooting. After the break, Olynyk increased those numbers to 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 51.1 percent from the field. He was able to work himself into better shape during the summer after stints with the Celtics and the Canadian national team.

“I just tried to improve my game in all aspects I could,” he said. “I tried to get a little bit more athletic and with the Canadian team, just try to get in competitive situations again. It’s kind of like an expanded summer league.”

The Celtics’ brass wanted Olynyk to get into premium shape over the summer, to return with a leaner 7-foot frame.

“My body feels good,” he said. “I felt pretty good my last year of college and then coming here I was a little bit banged up with my ankle and I didn’t have the same movement and mobility. I got a little bit heavier, probably. So now, just throughout the summer, working, working. My body’s feeling good, getting up and down [the floor] easy.”

Olynyk said the sprained right ankle that cost him 10 games in November-December lingered for weeks.

“After the All-Star break I could feel myself back into the state where I could move freely up and down the floor,” he said. “I can do more things [now] than I thought I could do before.”

It could be a challenging season for the second-year player, especially if he is assigned to play center, as expected. The Celtics have limited options in the middle and Olynyk could see significant time at an unnatural position.

“It’s different; it’s tough,” he said of playing center. “You’re matched up against strong, athletic guys. You’ve got to use your abilities to counteract that, whether it’s quickness, speed, length, outside perimeter skills to make it tough on them as well.”


Idea on rotation

While the Celtics were able to entertain their season ticket-holders Friday night at TD Garden with a 24-minute scrimmage, coach Brad Stevens seemingly already has made initial decisions about a rotation. The Celtics open the preseason Monday against the 76ers.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea about who the top 8-10 guys are right now,” Stevens said. “But how they all fit, starters, subs, who complements who, I’m still feeling that out. There’s some guys that are clearly in our best offensive lineup. There are other guys who are clearly in our best defensive lineup, and it’s probably going to be some mixing and matching.”

Stevens has stressed the “evenness” of the roster and some veterans accustomed to playing heavy minutes likely are going to be left out of the regular rotation.

“We’ve been very upfront with guys,” Stevens said. “Especially the training camp invites that we need the top 8-10 guys to get reps. We’ve communicated that and we’ve got to play at a very high level early on to compete. We want our guys to be as ready as a possible. So the guys in that range are getting the most reps right now.”


Erman impressing

Darren Erman’s exit from the Warriors was controversial; he was fired by coach Mark Jackson for apparently recording private conversations after feeling betrayed by the rest of the coaching staff. But he has received nothing but positive reviews in his return to the Celtics as an assistant coach, replacing Ron Adams.

“Darren’s really a great defensive coach,” Stevens said. “He’s more than that. He is as detail-oriented as detail-oriented gets. If your hands aren’t in the right place as you’re guarding the pick-and-roll or if your body positioning is not at the right angle, he’ll stop it and he’ll correct it. He’s really studied the game and I think that adds another good, young, ambitious guy that’s really excited to help these guys get better.”




bob
MY NOTE:  I can honestly say I am surprising myself with how excited I'm getting about Kelly.  Not a fan of stretch 4s (I might have been the last hold out against Dirk) but watching Kelly open the floor with his shooting and then put it on the floor for the left-side drive to the rim has made me think that maybe he's not just a "bombs away" stretch 4 who is allergic to paint (see Lewis, Rashard).  I'm inclined to think, as of 8:40 a.m. PDT, 10/5/14 (let's see how long this lasts!), that Kelly will be the hub of the wheel when Rondo isn't in.  Not Turner with his ball handling skills, not Sully (his new love affair with the 3ptr is irking me) or even Zeller with his damn near monopoly on the center position but  Kelly.  He's a 7'0" Swiss Army Knife.  He's one of the only players on this roster who can do all of pass and shoot (46.6% and 35% from 3 despite the horrible 1st half described in the article) and dribble and rebound and run the floor.  As such, he is one of those relatively rare players whose game can elevate everybody else's, because he can facilitate everything.  Is his defense suspect?  Yes, especially at center where he is still less strong than his man, but he only needs to get up to "okay" with that for his positives demand he be on the court, even as a center, and as a PF he projects to be a difficult match up for opposing players.  Kevin Love's defense isn't suspect, it is well known to be deficient, and yet he's All-League. I don't think Kelly will be All-League, he'd have to become our primary scorer for that, but he could become one of the more scouted players on the Celtics because he's in the middle of everything, and that's a good thing for us either because that means he's more effective or because he will have higher trade value.




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He certainly didn't do anything or fail to do anything in the scrimmage to dispel a theory that he's got a big upside and is hell bent on taking advantage of it. I've not been enthusiastic about his playing center, but I now think he could function very well in the high post, regardless of which he's a "4" or "5." I have doubts about either his low post offensive potential or his eventual ability to cover opposing centers on defense. However, the single thing I like best about him is that, whatever he does well he seemingly does instinctively and with relative ease. And he keeps adding more skills to that list. I believe that, if you asked him and he revealed his inner thoughts, you'd find that he feels he can accomplish just about anything.

So my main question about Kelly is whether his ceiling is higher as a power forward or a center. Right now, I'm leaning heavily toward the power forward direction, but I surely wouldn't put money on it.

One thing I'd love to see the Celtics institute when Kelly's in the lineup is the scissors play in which one guard passes in to the center in the outer half of the free throw circle, and the guard crosses behind the center the opposite side from where he started. A split second after that guard breaks, the other guard crosses over behind the center in the opposite direction. The options are many, and their appropriateness depends on how the defense reacts to the scissoring guards. If the center's defensive man switches onto one of the guards, the center has the option of shooting an open jumper or taking it to the hoop. If that defensive man doesn't switch, one one of the guards (if not both) will probably have been picked off by the center and the guard will be free for either a spot up jumper or a drive to the basket.

I believe there's absolutely no question that this was the single most effective offensive sequence for the Russell Celtics and the MacAuley Celtics before them. Then, like the old weave, it sort of disappeared and I see is only rarely now. It requires a good-passing center with quick instincts, and I believe Kelly would be a natural.

Sam