Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

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.

[…] 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.

ESPN Boston:  Time for Olynyk to take his shots

I touched on this Sunday night when I hosted Celtics Stuff Live (click to download)

I wish Kelly Olynyk had Avery Bradley’s mentality.

Here are the Celtics leaders in total point:

• Jeff Green: 221
• Jared Sullinger: 192
• Avery Bradley: 169
• Kelly Olynyk: 142

Here are the leaders in field goal attempts:

• Jeff Green: 180
• Jared Sullinger: 169
• Avery Bradley: 161
• Rajon Rondo: 102
• Kelly Olynyk: 100

So it’s taken Bradley 61 more field goal attempts to score 27 more points than Olynyk.  That’s not good.

How about from 3:  Celtics leaders in makes are:

• Jeff Green: 18
• Avery Bradley: 16
• Kelly Olynyk: 14
• Jared Sullinger: 11

And in 3-point field goal attempts:

• Jeff Green: 66
• Avery Bradley: 53
• Jared Sullinger: 40
• Kelly Olynyk: 31

Or to put this another way:  Jeff Green has taken more than twice as many 3-pointers, but only has 4 more than Olynyk.  Bradley only has 2 more despite 22 more attempts.  And Sullinger has taken 9 more than Olynyk, but has made 3 fewer.

All of these guys are exceptionally willing to take 3’s.  They’re all more than happy to shoot the ball, especially Avery Bradley who is slowly morphing into an offense-first player when the Celtics really need him to be a defense-first, 4-th option on offense.

Kelly Olynyk is obviously shooting well.  His eFG is 62% (a fg% that’s weighted to reflect 3’s are 1.5 times more valuable than 2’s).  That’s among the best among NBA regulars.  You can maybe argue that he’s shooting so well because he’s more judicious with his shot attempts, as opposed to Bradley who seems pleased to jack them up all game long.  But you can also make the argument that he’s passed up a lot of really good looks to get worse, or no attempts at all.

I theorized on CSL that part of this might be his pass-first point guard mentality ingrained him when he was actually a point guard in high school before sprouting up to 7-feet tall.  But part of it might also be a confidence thing, or too much of a willingness to defer to the shot-takers on the team.

But let’s be clear on this:  Kelly Olynyk needs to be an offensive option before Avery Bradley.  This, to me, is an absolute must.  He needs to be in the top-3 in Celtics field goal attempts almost every game.  Kelly Olynyk, on this team, at this moment, is one of Boston’s best scorers. Now, maybe some people will shake their heads and say “well that shows you how bad we are.”

Maybe.

Maybe in a perfect world of title contention Olynyk is a bench guy or a 4th option as a starter.  But that’s not the world in which we currently exist.  This team needs less Bradley offense and more Olynyk offense.  A lot more Olynyk offense.

He has the ability, and is in the situation, to finish the year with people tossing his name in the “most improved player” conversation.  He, and the Celtics, need to figure out a way to turn him into a scorer.  Run more pick and rolls with him and Rondo.  Try a pick and roll with him as the ball handler with Sullinger and let him try to take a big off the dribble.  Let his playmaking instincts shine and put him in spots where can create against mismatches.

Do something. Anything. To make Olynyk a bigger part of the offense. Especially if it lets Avery Bradley get back to what he does best.

Related links:  Herald: Olynyk visits Mildred Ave. School (video)

Page 2:  James Young is tearing up the D League

On Friday, the Red Claws struggled early to defend Alex Kirk, the Charge’s 7-footer from New Mexico who finished with a double-double, amassing 22 points and 10 rebounds. After a back-and-forth game that included 17 lead changes in the third quarter, Maine took control in the fourth by increasing its defensive pressure and limiting turnovers. Christian Watford hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to put the Red Claws ahead, as the team finished on a 13-2 run.

On Sunday the Red Claws added Celtics first-round-draft pick James Young to the starting lineup. Young, who was assigned to the Red Claws early Sunday morning, played 33 minutes and scored 22 points in his second D-League game. Young shot 7-of-15 from the field, including 3-for-8 from beyond the arc. While Young has put up impressive scoring numbers in each of his two D-League appearances, he has yet to dominate at the lower level. Before Young can crack the Celtics rotation, expect him to play a handful of more games in Vacationland.

WEEI:  James Young shows off shooting prowess

HOLD ON HOLD ON HOLD ON HOLD ON.

Do NOT just jump to the comments and say “See, he should be doing that in Boston.”

The D League is full of who’ll never sniff an NBA roster.  So let’s just remember the level of competition.  It is, however, full of guys from college that are good enough to get to some next level… whatever non-NBA level that is for most of them.  And Young is showing that he can do pretty well against them.

The beauty of the D League for Young is the minutes he’s getting in-game situations.  It’s great that he can go back and forth, and now spend the week in Boston playing against actual NBA guys in practice, but it’s these game minutes that can really hammer home the messages.

It’s like practice is the classroom, and the games are tests.  He’s passing the early tests now, and he’s showing that he can do well against lower-level competition.  It’s going to do wonders for his confidence (not like he needs it) and his ability to keep his skills sharp.

It’s clear that Dwight Powell is ahead of him in the rotation, as evidence by Powell being held on the roster against Memphis, but that might have also been a function of Powell’s length against a big team.  Stevens may have gone into the game willing to send a message to his defense-less team that if the didn’t start guarding the other team in a meaningful way, he’d turn to a rookie to try to get the job done.

Whatever the case may be, Young is giving us all a little glimmer of hope for the future.  If Jeff Green opts out, then maybe Young can use the lessons learned this year to step into the starting 3 role next year.

Hope, as Andy Dufresne would say, is a good thing.

Related links:  ESPN Boston:  Celtics recall Young from Maine  |  Mass Live: Analyzing Young’s latest D League performance

The rest of the links:   Herald:  Bass focused on here and now  |  Globe:  Celtics have 4-day break after series of tough losses  |  CSNNE:  December provides hope and promise for C’s  |  5 takeaways from Celtics season  |  NESN:  Stevens not a fan of college 1-and-done trend