Kelly Olynyk is a Bust!! Where is all the hype coming from??

[Eddie20]

Take a look at Kelly Olynyk's last 5 seasons and clearly the needle is pointing upwards. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that he grew 9 inches, from his junior year in high school to his freshman year in Gonzaga, and his game needed time to adjust to the growth.


2009-10 12 MPG
2010-11 13 MPG
2011-12 Redshirted
2012-13 Consensus All-America 1st Team
2013-14 All-NBA Rookie 2nd Team

[manl_lui]

did someone just sign up to Celticsblog just to rant about KO? lol?

[Beat LA]

Hey. I predicted a KO bust out when he was drafted and even I have to admit the kid doesn't look like a bust. I don't understand you questioning his rebounding, he is quite a good rebounder. His defense will be his downfall but he looks at worst to be a decent offensive off the bench role player and at best maybe a Kevin Love lite type player

Same here, but he certainly impressed me towards the end of last season.  Yes, he's terrible in terms of quickness, and his wingspan is less than his height lol, but, and I think that someone has already mentioned this in another thread (it might have been me, but I can't remember right now), he would seem to be a better passing version of Luis Scola to me, and that's okay.  He's no Dirk, however, and I'll never understand that comparison.  If there's one thing to love about KO, if anything besides his hair and his beach body  (sarcasm), it's his passing, although everyone said that he was a great post player coming out of college, but I don't remember him even playing down low save for about three times against scrubs over the course of the entire season, so maybe that was false advertising?  I really have no idea.  We should have taken the Greek Freak, but if we weren't going to trade up for him, the bpa at our spot was Tim Hardaway Jr, imo, but whatever.  We'll see how all of this works out.  I don't see the Kevin Love comparison either, except for the fact that they're both tall white guys who can pass and shoot.

[Beat LA]

The problem with the Dirk comparison is that Dirk is a member of the master race.

KO is a Canadian.

I'm really hoping that this is sarcasm.

[Tr1boy]

Many people on here seems to think KO is one of the best young prospects our team have, and some even made the ridicules comparison with Dirk Nowitzki.  To me this player hasn't showed any any part of his game that stood out to me, while having many glaring weaknesses on defense and rebounding.  3pt shot is what many considers to be his best attribute but he shot 35% while making only .6 per game.  Can someone please help me understand the hype and how KO is different from a below average player like Andrea Bargnani?

can you just hold on first?  He has played only one season in the nba thus far.  What are you expecting exactly??

Even guys who are considered top center/pf prospects can have issues adapting to the nba pace in their first two seasons.

KO since last season has ended, has already shown us an improved body at the SL. He is more comfortable attempting moves ( step back jump shots) that is not going to be easy to defend .  His defense will get better but we can't expect him to be the next ibaka. He doesn't have the natural tools to be that good. However to be at least as decent as a Tiago Splitter (positioning, high iq, boxing out consistently) is not unrealistic imo.

As long as he keeps improving year by year,  KO will be fine. I expect him to max out at 17 ppg, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal eventually

[Ogaju]

Hey. I predicted a KO bust out when he was drafted and even I have to admit the kid doesn't look like a bust. I don't understand you questioning his rebounding, he is quite a good rebounder. His defense will be his downfall but he looks at worst to be a decent offensive off the bench role player and at best maybe a Kevin Love lite type player

 I don't see the Kevin Love comparison either, except for the fact that they're both tall white guys who can pass and shoot.

lol @ 'I don't see the Kevin Love comparison other than he looks like and plays like Kevin Love'

[Yoki_IsTheName]

If you're expecting HOF career, sure.

But he's been alright. I dont think he's going to move the needle of winning above for us significantly (hope I'm wrong), but he's a solid player, a good bench player at worst and a starter level talent at best.

He's not a bust.

[footey]

My problem with Kelly is he seems to lack that competitive edge that define successful NBA players, guys like Rondo, Bradley and Smart have it, Sully too, but Kelly seems to be on cruise control.  Maybe just his personality, but it just strikes me as a limitation on his upside.

[Tr1boy]

My problem with Kelly is he seems to lack that competitive edge that define successful NBA players, guys like Rondo, Bradley and Smart have it, Sully too, but Kelly seems to be on cruise control.  Maybe just his personality, but it just strikes me as a limitation on his upside.

He is a take control type or can be. You think he can in his first year in the league?

Prior to the draft he was that guy at gonzaga. He carried that team on his back. 

[furball]

Here's part of what I wrote about Kelly at the end of last season on my blog and why  think he will be a very good player for the Celtics (and why I like him more than Sully) 

"You see as a rookie on a team loaded with veteran power forwards and bigs, he did not get a ton of minutes in most games as noted by only averaging 20 minutes per.  Because Kelly isn’t the type of player to dominate the ball and take over a game, his stats were usual related to the amount of minutes he played.  You would think this is true for pretty much every player.  If you just take the games where Olynyk played over 20 minutes his numbers are even better. He passed the 20 minute mark 35 times this season putting up 12.3 points, 6.9 boards, and 2.3 assists in 25.6 minutes.  If you narrow it down even more to games where he played over 27 minutes a game (mind you starter minutes are considered around 36 minutes) he went for 18.2, 10, and 3.5 in 30.5 minutes over 11 games.  It’s a small sample size but it’s still really good.  In his last three games of the season, due to injuries to the other bigs, he averaged 34.7 minutes per and went for 25.7, 9.3 and 3.7.  Now that’s a tiny sample but it’s still a very good run."

You can read all of it here....http://furballssportspage.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/2013-14-boston-celtics-season-review/

[Celtics18]

I'm not a fan of the Ryan Anderson comparison.  Olynyk is better at every facet of the game except for outside shooting.  If he could come close to approaching being as good a shooter from long range as Ryan Anderson--in addition to all the other things he can do well--watch out, league!!

He'll probably never be Ryan Anderson, Ray Allen, or Kyle Korver, but if he can stay at above .350 for his career from deep, Kelly is going to be really, really good. 

Many people seem to be deceived into believing that outside shooting is Kelly Olynyk's best attribute.  It isn't.  Ball handling, passing, creating with the basketball are going to be his hallmarks.  The shooting is a bonus. 

[Beat LA]

Hey. I predicted a KO bust out when he was drafted and even I have to admit the kid doesn't look like a bust. I don't understand you questioning his rebounding, he is quite a good rebounder. His defense will be his downfall but he looks at worst to be a decent offensive off the bench role player and at best maybe a Kevin Love lite type player

 I don't see the Kevin Love comparison either, except for the fact that they're both tall white guys who can pass and shoot.

lol @ 'I don't see the Kevin Love comparison other than he looks like and plays like Kevin Love'

That's not what I meant, but I knew it would come off that way, haha.  Love is a monster on the boards, whereas KO is meh.  In his defense, though, most players of the same position are meh when compared to Kevin Love lol.  Plus, his hair is totes different to that of Kevin's.  It matters, sir, it matters (sarcasm)

[Celtics4ever]

I think sometimes he plays soft.  Did so in college.   He has some talent but lack toughness and is a finesse guy and not a power player.

[Fred Roberts]

I wanted Dieng but am happy we have KO. Feet are a bit slow but his size and skills bode well moving ahead

[LooseCannon]

Can someone please help me understand the hype and how KO is different from a below average player like Andrea Bargnani?

Olynyk has significantly better rebounding statistics than Bargnani.  Olynyk has better shot distribution, with a higher percentage of his scoring coming from within three feet of the basket.  Olynyk has better assist stats.

It would be reasonable to claim that Olynyk as a rookie was a better player than Bargnani has ever been and that KO has room to improve.