Kelly Olynyk

[ZagNative]

Young man is earning his salary....

[ZaGranny]

Celtics 101 Pacers 98

Finally--a win after leading the first half and struggling the second.

Kelly played 27:58. He scored 12 points, had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 fouls, 1 steal TO'.s

5 Celtics scored in double figures. Bummer note: Marcus Smart went down with an ankle injury--MRI to come.

ZaGranny

[ZaGranny]

Celtics 106 Bulls 101

Kelly had a great game--a double double.

He played 33:26. He had 18 points (second highest on the Celtics) , 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls, 4 TO's, 1 Block.ZaGranny

[ZagNative]

Fun, fun game to watch!

[ZagNative]

I'm increasingly impessed with Kelly, especially after the win over Chicago. Story from the Milford Daily News:

Olynyk scored 18 points with 11 rebounds in Boston’s 106-101 victory at Chicago Saturday night, upping his season averages to 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. He is shooting 60.8 percent from the floor (31-of-51), a team-leading 53.3 percent from 3-point range (8-of-15), and is tied for second on the team with six steals.

The impact he’s made — especially on the glass — has been an eye-opener to many, if not necessarily so to Stevens.

“I think Kelly’s been really consistent all the way through,” Stevens said before Monday’s practice. “I know people who don’t see him every minute of every single day might feel differently, but I see it in practice. I think Kelly is a really valuable player for our team.

“He stretches the floor. He can put the ball on the floor. He can drive. He can shoot it. He can offensive rebound really well. He’s starting to get some defensive rebounds. “

Perhaps as much as anyone on the roster, Olynyk has benefited this season from the coach’s preaching of ball movement and playing at a high pace.

“We’re just getting up and down,” Olynyk said. “It’s really fluid. We’re moving the ball well. Everyone’s contributing and everyone’s a threat.

“It’s fun that way. Everyone touches the ball. Everyone gets to be in the flow of the game rather than coming down, slowing it down, with the point guard just dribbling, dribbling, dribbling, then someone shoots in the end.”

I wonder if, during his time at GU, Kelly envisioned himself coming out ahead of some of the giants in the NBA:

Snatching a rebound away from Joachim Noah ...



Or beating Pau Gasol to a board ...



Interesting to compare the salaries for the players on the two teams. Sullinger got screwed ...

[hooter73]

Are the rims higher in the NBA? Never see Kelly with a dunk anymore.

[LongIslandZagFan]

Are the rims higher in the NBA? Never see Kelly with a dunk anymore.

Couldn't find any video... so a pic or two will have to do:

[ZagNative]

Are the rims higher in the NBA? Never see Kelly with a dunk anymore.

Here's another one, a sweet reverse dunk from tonight's game v. the Thunder:

[ZaGranny]

Thunder 109 Celtics 104

Kelly was in for 32:17. He scored 14, had 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 fouls, 1 steal, 1 TO, 2 blocks.

The Celtics had a great first quarter, then seemed to unravel. All five starters scored in double figures, but tono avail.

ZaGranny

[ZagNative]

I wonder when or if Kelly will solve his fouling problem.... Frustrating ...

[ZagNative]

Nice piece about Kelly from Celtics Blog:

Kelly Olynyk is having a breakout season for the Boston Celtics

By Daniel Hebert on Nov 13 2014, 1:33a

Kelly Olynyk finishes a layup against the Brooklyn Nets - Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but Kelly Olynyk is starting to look like a breakout candidate. The Boston Celtics are playing better than most people expected and currently sit at 3-4. While I'm not ecstatic about a record below 0.500, I am starting to get excited about the prospects of our future.

..
Kelly Olynyk's counting stats aren't incredible, as he's averaging around 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. To put this into perspective, he is the leading scorer of all sophomore NBA players, and he was the second leading rebounder going into the game against the Thunder. So while he's not dropping 20 and 10 like Anthony Davis did in his second year, he is proving to be one of the better offensive players that came out of his draft class.

Not only is Olynyk one of the highest scorers out of his draft class, but he is scoring at a wildly efficient clip. He is shooting over 60% from the field, and a missed three during garbage time against the Thunder dropped his three point percentage to 50%.

It can be argued that Olynyk has developed into the Celtics best all around shooter already. He is also posting a PER above 20 (the only other Celtic to do so is Sullinger). While I don't expect his efficiency to remain quite so high, I do think he is developing into an absolute fixture of the Celtics offense. His passing and floor spacing are invaluable to an offense that ranked 6th in the league before the horrendous shooting night against OKC.

Olynyk finds ways to score within the offense, and if anything, he is a little too tentative at times. It sounds like both Stevens and his teammates are telling him to be more aggressive, so I'm hoping that his early season run gives him the confidence to take that next step.

While I do want him to be more aggressive with his shot, I don't want it to come at the expense of his passing. I know he doesn't have gaudy assist numbers, but he almost always makes the right pass. He keeps the ball moving, and he has a good eye for hitting the open man. He also seems to end up with a lot of secondary assists (his passes lead to passes that end with a score). Olynyk just plays offense the right way, and his high basketball IQ really makes him a nightmare in the high post for opposing defenses.

One thing that could get Olynyk's counting numbers up is just staying on the floor. I know I'm not the only Celtics fan that cringes every game when Olynyk picks up 2 early fouls and has to come out of the game. Most of these fouls are of the ticky tack variety or come off of the ball. If Stevens can just work with Olynyk to get rid of the pointless fouls, he will be able to stay on the floor a lot longer. So far this season, Olynyk is averaging right under 28 minutes a game. I believe he has the stamina to easily play 30+ MPG, but he has to cut down on his number of fouls for that to even be possible. I think if he keeps out of foul trouble, Stevens would be happy to give him 34-35 MPG. Olynyk is just too much of a positive when he's on the floor to keep him out any longer than we have to.

Emphasis added to the last paragaph.

[sittingon50]

Thanks Native.

[ZagNative]

Kelly and his Celtics are playing LeBron and the Cavs right now. Box Score - Celtics leading 39-32, KO wih 7 poits, 2 bds, a steal, a block and a foul, with 8:47 left in the 2nd.

Nice pic early in the game.

[ZagNative]

Well,that's a hell of a deal ... Cavs win it 122-121, after the Celtics had led the whole game. LeBron scored 40.

Looks like a pretty solid game for our guy KO:

[ZagNative]

From Ford Keys to the Game on NBA.Com:

Key Player

Brad Stevens has been asking Kelly Olynyk to shoot the ball more often. He shot it Friday night, and he shot it well.

Olynyk scored a team-best 21 points as the Celtics nearly snagged an impressive win over the visiting Cavs. The big man was extremely efficient on the night, hitting eight of his 13 shot attempts, including a 2-of-5 performance from long range.

There were other Celtics who had impressive performances – Rajon Rondo dished out 16 assists, Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green scored 19 points apiece – but none had as much of an impact as Olynyk. He finished the game as the only Celtics starter who tallied a positive plus/minus rating. Boston outscored Cleveland by nine points while he was on the court.

Olynyk also contributed in other areas. He grabbed six boards and two steals while also adding an assist and a blocked shot.

Not a bad night for the second-year center. Let’s hope we see this aggressive Olynyk more often.