Like many players on this Boston Celtics team, it’s hard to get a handle on Kelly Olynyk at times.
The former 13th overall pick out of Gonzaga has had plenty of ups and downs over two and a half seasons in the NBA. Recently, that inconsistency even has extended to his hairstyle, where Olynyk has waffled between the flow and the “man bun.”
But the Canadian has settled into quite the groove of late.
Olynyk was the most effective player on the court Monday, finishing with an incredible plus-minus rating of plus-27 in Boston’s 118-113 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks. He accomplished that feat by going 5 for 6 from 3-point range and dropping 17 points in just 25 minutes of action off the bench.
“Kelly was really good (Monday),” head coach Brad Stevens said in a postgame interview aired on CSN New England. “I thought he did a lot of good things. I thought he played defense well. We went through that long stretch in the second half and we got him a breather and put him back in at the end. I just thought he was good. Like, I thought he was really good (Monday).”
Olynyk’s hot shooting was part of a promising trend for the 24-year-old, who has tallied double figures in four consecutive games. Over that span, he’s shot 52.4 percent from the field while going 11 for 19 from 3-point range, which included another 3-point barrage against the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
Olynyk’s effort Monday bumped him up to 42.6 percent shooting from three, tops on the Celtics this season.
“I’ve just been shooting the ball well lately, with confidence,” Olynyk said in a postgame interview aired on CSN New England. “I got a couple open ones to go early, and then after that, just had to let them fly.”
Stevens loves employing small lineups that can stretch the floor and force opponents’ big men to defend the perimeter. If Olynyk can convert his recent hot streak into consistent success, he’ll open up a wealth of possibilities for his team’s versatile offense.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
