Forget about the logjam in the front court: the Boston Celtics might have a point guard battle on their hands.
The C’s opened preseason play for the 2015-16 season Tuesday against Italian club team Olimpia Milano, and though third-year big man Kelly Olynyk wasn’t a starter, he still managed to find his way into the highlight reel with some smooth ball handling.
First he razzled and dazzled the Italians with his crossover (he missed the bucket but drew the foul).
Then the 7-footer showed off his passing skills, lobbing this dime up to newcomer Amir Johnson for the slam.
The Celtics cruised past Milano 124-91.
— Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 18 points, while David Lee added 13 points and 7 rebounds.
Lee topped all Celtics with a plus-22 plus-minus rating. No Celtic finished worse than plus-five. In comparison, no Milano player finished with a positive rating (Gani Lawal was a team-best minus-six).
— Forward Perry Jones is leaving the team to return to the United States after suffering a death in the family, according to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. He will not play in Thursday’s game against Real Madrid.
Forward Jae Crowder started and looked good in the first team offense.
He also threw down this nifty dunk during pregame warmups.
He ended the game with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 3 steals.
— Terry Rozier led the Celtics rookies with nine points.
Jordan Mickey added seven, including this nice move.
R.J. Hunter had an eventful statline: 3 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.
— James Young was the only member of the team not to score.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@CelticsNation19
