Kelly Olynyk had a game saving performance against the Hawks
The Boston Celtics went into this season expecting Kelly Olynyk to be one of their top shooting and scoring threats. Being on the second unit adds to the matchup problems a stretch five creates, putting Olynyk in a great position to have a great impact when he is on the court. Olynyk finished off last season with a career high 40.5 percent from three. Olynyk was the best three point shooter on the team and with the loss of Evan Turner, they were expecting him to make up for some of that impact on the offensive end.
Unfortunately, none of that has been coming to fruition this season. He has struggled with injuries, preventing him from getting into the proper rhythm. He has not expanded his offensive game in any way, and his three point percentage has dropped, leading to the lowest scoring average of his young career.
The Celtics have Marcus Smart who has separated himself as the top player off the bench on both ends of the floor. His shooting is finally starting to come alive, and his development as a distributor and offensive instigator has been huge for the Celtics this season. Unfortunately, that is the extent of what the Celtics can rely on with the second unit.
Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier are still too young, Gerald Green has had scoring bursts that have made a huge difference, but he has not sustained it enough for him to be reliable. Tyler Zeller has all but lost his role with the team completely, Jordan Mickey has one significant appearance on a game where only 10 players were available, James Young may as well not be on the team anymore and Jonas Jerebko does nothing to change the game on either end.
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The Celtics went into this season realizing that all those players were going to be difficult to trust. They have not shown any kind of real potential to have a large impact on the game off the bench at this point in their careers, but that is not the case with Olynyk. Olynyk was supposed to be the most sure thing on the second unit. Even if he did not improve from a season ago, the Celtics were anticipating him to lead the way as a shooter and a scorer off the bench.
Not only has Olynyk failed to live up to those expectations by seeing his three point percentage drop, but he has not taken on any addition responsibility, rendering him a non factor far too often. The Celtics have been waiting for Olynyk to break out in any way this season, and it finally happened against the Atlanta Hawks. On a night when the Celtics were not getting the scoring they needed from the starting unit, Olynyk picked a great game to finally have a game altering impact.
Olynyk’s 26 points off the bench were behind just Isaiah Thomas, who was behind the big man until he had his typical dominant fourth quarter. Not only was that a season high for Olynyk, but it was the first time he broke 20 points scored this season. In fact, that was just the fifth time Olynyk scored more than 15 points, demonstrating how ineffective he has been off the bench.
While the Celtics cannot expect Olynyk to consistently be scoring like he did against the Hawks, they need him to continue to have an impact on the game. Olynyk will always help with his floor spacing and willingness to pass, but that is not enough. Olynyk has proven that he is comfortable and can avoid being a liability, but this second unit needs more than that, and they got it in a big way against the Hawks.
Olynyk’s 9-11 shooting and 4-5 from three on the night raised his three point percentage above 37. Olynyk has not been a bad shooter this year, but when the decrease in shooting percentage is combined with a decrease in shot attempts, Olynyk has clearly been moving backwards in a season that he was supposed to emerge. Olynyk is in a contact year and if he is expecting any kind of significant pay day, he will need more performances like that against the Hawks.
While last game was a great sign for Olynyk, and did a great job of demonstrating the kind of great impact he can have off the bench, it continues a trend of inconsistency off the bench. The Celtics have been getting occasional boosts from Brown, Rozier, Green and even a brief momentum boost from Young. The Celtics have multiple players that have proven that they can bring a great spark off the bench. What the Celtics need now, however, is at least one of these players to emege with a consistent impact, game after game.
Even when he is not effective on the offensive end, Smart is always an impactful player, and is always contributing in a positive way. Olynyk needs to build on his 26 point performance to try and get back to giving a consistent offensive impact off the bench. Green is also showing signs of being that player that they can trust for a scoring boost each game.
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If the Celtics want to fix their consistency issues, the second unit will play a big role. The Celtics need more reliability from that unit and Olynyk is the one player they have seen play that role in the past. One performance will not change everything, but Olynyk needs to make this a turning point in his season, and get back to being a top offensive option for any unit on the Celtics.