Kelly Olynyk is More Valuable Off the Bench

Kelly Olynyk is better suited coming off the bench for the Boston Celtics

Kelly Olynyk has consistenly been one of the best shooters on the Boston Celtics for the entire duration of his short career. Of course, that is not saying anything spectacular given how poorly the Celtics have shot across the board. Last season was also the best of Olynyk’s career and he truly separated himself by eclipsing the 40% mark while not sacrificing any kind of volume.

Now that the Celtics have added Al Horford they have one absolute certainty when it comes to their starting front court, and the shooting that Olynyk brings has a lot of people wanting to see the two stretch fives play together in the starting lineup. Playing two seven footers would be something new for the Celtics, but with how fluid the forward positions are for Brad Stevens there should be no problem with them switching between the four and the five.

The Celtics desperately need to improve their shooting and putting Olynyk in the starting lineup with Horford will give them exactly the kind of floor spacing they have been searching for in their front court. The addition of Horford also makes it easier to accommodate any defensive issues by Olynyk, and will put him in the best possible position to capitalize on quality opportunities.

As tempting it may be to put the Celtics’ best three point shooter on the starting lineup, the second unit needs him a lot more. The Celtics always need an impact from their second unit and if they lose Olynyk the offense will reach disastrous levels.

While Olynyk’s floor spacing and shooting would be phenomenal with the first unit, his impact would be much greater coming off the bench. With the Stevens plays around with his lineups, having Olynyk come off the bench does not eliminate the possibility of playing with Horford, but the second unit needs him in a desperate way and that is where he should spend the majority of his time.

With Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier playing the guard positions and Jaylen Brown playing the three, switching out Olynyk for Amir Johnson would doom that unit to be in a perpetual shooting rut. Smart is a sub 30% three point shooter, Rozier is expected to be a sub 30% shooter, Johnson failed miserably at  trying to add the three point shot to his arsenal, and that would leave Jonas Jerebko and Gerald Green, two players not expected to have significant roles, as the lone shooters coming off the bench. There are some wild cards with young players, and if he takes a big step this season R.J Hunter could change things, but they cannot realistic expect that from any of the other younger bench players at this point.

If Jerebko or Green can prove that they can handle that much of an increased role, and can become an offensive instigator in any way, then that also changes things. At this point, however, there is no reason to believe that either of them will be more than limited off ball players. They will give some floor spacing, but neither can replicate the impact that Olynyk can have. Green and Jerebko also have much less potential to improve and to this point they have done little to suggest they can develop as playmakers, especially on a second unit that has a lot of poor shooters.

Even with Olynyk that second unit will struggle to provide the floor spacing they need to generate opportunities, but taking Olynyk off means they do not have a single player that will demand enough respect from the defense from beyond the arc.

With Horford now on the starting unit, their floor spacing will automatically be significantly better than last season. With Avery Bradley, Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder being three of their best three point shooters, who all should be shooting above 35% this season, Olynyk cannot have the same kind of impact that he would have with the second unit, even if he would be in a better position to be a more efficient shooter.

The shooting and floor spacing would be the most important thing. It would open lanes up for the incredibly aggressive guards and the same can be said about Brown, who is much more likely to have an impact in the paint than with his shooting as a rookie. Without Olynyk, those three players will be in a disastrous situation offensively and each of them could regress on that end.

To this point, Olynyk has made it clear that he will have an impact as a shooter, but he is young enough that he should continue to develop. Olynyk will not be that guy if he does not improve from last season, but he could be a much needed offensive instigator. The Celtics have always run their offense through their guards, and Rozier and Smart will certainly play more with the ball in their hands, but Olynyk has the potential to generate a lot more offense for his teammates on the second unit.

With the starters, he will continue to be a knock down three point shooter, but he will only be benefiting from offense and opportunities generated by others. Losing Evan Turner takes away the lone offensive instigator the Celtics had on their second unit last year, and expecting Rozier to immediately be ready to become that distributor could back fire in a bad way.

Olynyk has made use of his shot fake but with the respect he would command from the defenses on that second unit, everything would open up for his teammates and with his willingness to pass, his assist numbers could sky rocket. Olynyk has spent his career as a successful off ball player but he has the potential to develop into more, and he will be guaranteed that opportunity with the second unit.

If the Celtics were putting together their best five players, there is little argument to keep Olynyk off the starting lineup. They would have dangerous shooters across the board and would still have a stellar defensive lineup with Horford, Crowder and Bradley. Johnson, however, still remains a better defensive option, and his value would go down with the second unit.

The second unit will be in a great position to be successful on defense with Smart and Rozier alone and Johnson would be adding even more clutter to what will already be a cluttered paint area on the offensive end. Johnson does not have the potential to be an offensive instigator and as much as the Celtics value forwards that can shoot, his interior defense was vital last season and will help solidify the Celtics as one of the elite defenses in the league. Interior defense was an issue last year, and that could be transformed with Johnson playing with Horford.

Olynyk is in a great position to see his role significantly increase this year and if he can help Smart and Rozier generate offense with the second unit, while providing the floor spacing he has brought his entire career, then he will be in the best position for a career year. His volume of opportunities will increase on the second unit and that is the only way he will get the opportunity to showcase what he can do as an instigator for his teammates with the ball in his hands.

Next: Boston Celtics Position Battle: Brown vs Green

The Celtics have been getting a big advantage from their second unit each of the last two years, and that has been vital to their success. While there will always be great potential with Smart, Rozier and Brown, the offense of that unit cannot afford losing both Turner and Olynyk who were, by far, the two most important offensive players coming off the bench last year.