Robb: Olynyk Breaks Out Of Slump With Strong Second Half vs. Pistons
BOSTON – Prior to Wednesday night's game, Boston fans had seen two versions of second-year center Kelly Olynyk this season.
For the opening two weeks of November, Olynyk had been living up to his expectations of a lottery pick with immense offensive talent. He scored in double figures in six of his first eight games and shot an incredibly efficient 60 percent from the field. These consistent contributions helped turn the Celtics into somewhat of a surprising offensive juggernaut right out of the gate.
Over the past couple weeks though, that version of Olynyk faded into the background. Prior to the Pistons matchup Wednesday night, the former Gonzaga star morphed back into a tentative rookie. He lost his shooting touch (29 percent from the field) over his past seven games, averaging a paltry 5.4 points per game over that stretch, nearly half his season average. In related news, the Celtics lost six of seven games over Olynyk's slump.
The big man seemingly lost his confidence as his shooting attempts diminished too during the ugly stretch. All of this, combined with some lackluster defense, led to Olynyk losing his starting job to Tyler Zeller last Sunday. But Brad Stevens still had confidence his talented center would turn it around when speaking to the media.
On Wednesday night, we saw just that.
Olynyk shook off an ugly first half stint against Detroit's talented frontline and bounced back to put together one of his best games of the season in Boston's 109-102 overtime win over the Pistons. The versatile seven-footer did a little bit of everything in the second half, and finished the night with 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a season-high three blocks in 27 minutes.
Stevens was particularly pleased with just how aggressive Olynyk was on the offensive end, where took 13 field goal attempts (one short of his season-high).
"I loved that," Stevens noted. "That's what he does. One of the things that bothers me is how much fewer 3s he's taken than other guys. Especially with the way he's shooting. His percentages are the best on our team, right? So I want all those guys to take what they're taking, but I want him to take a lot more."
Olynyk also did an admirable job down low defending the likes of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond, despite both battles being mismatches for the big man. Rajon Rondo was quick to hand out praise for Olynyk's effort there after the game, along with crediting Boston's other big men.
"We put a lot on our bigs tonight," Rondo said. "They played Monroe in the post 1-on-1. If you give anybody that many dribbles, it's pretty tough. But our bigs did a great job. We stuck with the game plan and came out with the win."
Stevens added: "We put him on Drummond quite a bit, and he did a great job playing position. And then just going back and blocking out, and letting other people [rebound] the ball. I liked the way he played today."
Ultimately, Olynyk strong's play helped the Celtics get over the hump and snap a five-game losing streak. It wasn't a pretty performance, but Olynyk highlighted the positives for the team after the game.
"We still have lots to improve on down the stretch to hold that, but the team came back and the dam was getting hit and getting hit, but didn't break."
If the Celtics want to turn this season around, they will need Olynyk to play a big part in that equation. His turnaround performance Wednesday night was a strong start in that direction.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
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