Boston Celtics: Five Most Important Players This Season
By Dan Orencole
Mar 20, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk (41) shoots the ball against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
A big that can stretch the floor with his long hair flowing, I see Olynyk as a poor man’s Kevin Love. While he does not have the pure talent and shooting ability of Love, Olynyk is a very valuable piece to this team. Olynyk should look to be more involved in the offense from the perimeter this season.
He has shot around 35% from three-point range during his first couple years in the league. I see him improving that average to around 40% with David Lee drawing attention in the paint.
Olynyk improved last year in many parts of the game. He shot 47% from the field, averaged 10.3 points per game and grabbed 4.7 rebounds a game. While these are no gaudy numbers, for 22.3 minutes a game, these numbers are very strong.
Look for Olynyk to play around the same amount of minutes a game this season in a balanced rotation type team and continue to show improvement. One major issue I had with Brad Stevens rotation during the playoff series with the Cavaliers was Olynyk only played 13.3 minutes a game.
Shooting 53% from the field in the series, Olynyk should be more involved in the offense this season and in the playoffs. At 24-years-old, his future is looking very bright.
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