NBA teams
Chris Forsberg, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Time for Olynyk to take his shots

Boston Celtics

BOSTON -- Early in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, with the Boston Celtics in desperate need of an offensive spark, second-year big man Kelly Olynyk received the ball beyond the 3-point arc with a fair amount of space between him and his defender. And he hesitated.

So long, in fact, that by the time Olynyk finally elected to pump fake, Joel Freeland had parked himself in front of Olynyk with a hand in his face and didn't even consider biting. Olynyk tried to drive, met resistance from Freeland in the paint and settled for an off-balance, one-footed fadeaway from the blocks that missed badly.

It was Olynyk's third and final shot attempt of the night. He missed all three and finished scoreless for the second time in four games.

Let's start with the positive: Going up against a tough opposing front line and forced to help against some very talented guards, Olynyk played some inspired defense. He was not without his missteps, but from this view it was one of his more encouraging defensive efforts of the season.

What Sunday's loss hammered home is that Olynyk is still a bit too shy at times with his offensive game, and it's on both him and the Celtics to figure out ways to make sure he's more involved.

The NBA's player-tracking data detail how Olynyk touched the ball 50 times on Sunday night, the third-highest total on the team behind only Rajon Rondo (94) and Jared Sullinger (64). Not only did that lead to only three shot attempts, but, despite being credited with 42 total passes (most on the team behind Rondo), Olynyk registered just one assist and was not credited with any secondary assists.

Boston endured its worst offensive performance of the season and Olynyk was hardly the only Celtic to struggle offensively. But the early portion of the 2014-15 season has only confirmed how much of a weapon Olynyk can be at that end of the court. His ability to stretch the floor and shoot from beyond the 3-point arc is a major reason coach Brad Stevens named him the team's starting center despite not having the typical center build.

Olynyk quietly ranked 10th in the NBA in field goal percentage (55 percent) and 14th in 3-point percentage (45.2) entering Monday's action. He's averaging 11.8 points over 26.4 minutes per game, while also grabbing 6.1 rebounds per contest.

There have been expected growing pains on the defensive end as Olynyk and third-year big man Jared Sullinger develop chemistry. Even as Sullinger takes on some of the more traditional NBA centers, Olynyk is learning how to defend a variety of opposing bigs, and defense was not his calling card coming to the NBA.

The positive there: The league's defensive tracking suggests Olynyk is limiting his opponents to 46.2 percent shooting overall, which is slightly lower than the expected field goal percentage of his opponents (46.6 percent). His numbers defending near the basket aren't as bad as you might think, considering he's defending seven shots per game near the rim (which ranks him among the league's top 30 players in field goals defended near the rim).

The Celtics simply cannot afford for Olynyk to be invisible on the offensive end. His shooting skills alone demand more shots per game, but he's also a skilled passer who ought be averaging more than 1.7 assists with the way the offense often flows through him.

"[The Trail Blazers] didn't allow him a lot of opportunities on the outside," Stevens said after Sunday's game. "They decided to guard him. We just need to continue to help him find those ways [to get involved offensively].

"I think that he's going to be frustrated by [his lack of scoring], but I think that's part of the curve for him, as a starting forward, to be able to play in different ways that people guard you."

Part of it is on Olynyk, who at times looks to facilitate before pursuing his own offense, as his only second-half shot attempt Sunday hammers home. The other part is on Boston's coaching staff to maximize his talents on the offensive end, finding a balance between facilitating from the high post and getting the shots necessary to find a rhythm.

Asked earlier this year if he wants Olynyk to be more assertive with his shot, Stevens said: "He's shooting it great; he looks great. We want him to shoot it."

Olynyk needs to trust his shot and trust his skills. You can envision a time down the road when Olynyk's shot goes cold and we'll spend 800 words wondering if he's shooting too much. Until that point, Olynyk needs to fire away. His team needs his offense.

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