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.
“I watched our draft workouts, and the best workout I saw all summer was Kelly Olynyk putting on a shooting clinic hitting 3s,” team president Rich Gotham said. “We bring in all these guys, but we’ve got great guys on our team. It’s exciting to think about how these guys will develop over time.”
“I think our best bet is to make him a big part of what we’re doing,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Olynyk. “I think the reason for that is because he’s a skilled, savvy basketball player that can play a number of positions and can stretch the floor for you.
“I thought he made great progress last year; I think he’s made a lot this summer. I didn’t think he played as well in the [Orlando] summer league as he’s played in just his workouts, in his individual workouts and small groups. For whatever reason, I don’t know why that is the case. But he’s picked up well from Day 1 and 2 [of training camp].”
One way or another, Stevens is going to find a way to get Olynyk on the floor in hopes of allowing him to build off the end of last season. Over Boston’s final three games of the 2013-14 campaign, Olynyk averaged 25.7 points on 53.4 percent shooting while adding 9.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists over 34.7 minutes per game. He landed on the NBA’s All-Rookie second team, then dove into a basketball-heavy summer that included a stint with the Canadian national team during their overseas exhibition games.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Brad Stevens plays the three-headed monster of Zeller, Olynyk, and Sullinger.
Before the acquisition of Tyler Zeller, I was convinced KO would be the starting center. While he might struggle defending the post and protecting the rim, his shooting range would create a similar mismatch on the offensive end. The defense would improve as he added muscle and experience.
But if Olynyk is going to log significant minutes at power forward, he’s going to have to guard quicker players. That is more frightening of a scenario than playing bigs in the post.
We are learning more about Zeller’s game, like his ability to run the floor and pass the ball:
“Probably the thing I’ve been, maybe the biggest surprise about Tyler Zeller has been the way he passes the ball,” Stevens said.
“I’m excited about our bigs being able to pass the ball as much as anything else,” Stevens said. “We’ve talked about if they can stretch it, it’s better for us shooting it. But them being able to pass is important, too.”
Zeller is not looking to stretch the floor like Sullinger and Olynyk, evident by Zeller taking just five 3-pointers in his career – all misses.
Instead he has made it a point to contribute in a multitude of other areas. And his efforts have not gone unnoticed.
“Tyler, he bangs down low. He gets up and down the floor faster than some of the guards do,” said Boston’s Marcus Smart. “That’s always good that your big can get down the floor that fast.”
All I want out of Zeller is defensive rebounding. Just keep guys off the glass, please.
Jared Sullinger’s development is key to the success of the front court (and the team quite frankly). The C-word is still a big issue for him:
“Not where I want to be, but really, really close,” Sullinger said of his conditioning level. “Getting up and down in practice has really been helpful, especially the pace that we’re playing. There’s no choice but for me to get in shape. As long as practices keep staying like this, with the competition that we have in Brandon [Bass] and Tyler [Zeller] and Erik Murphy and Dwight [Powell] and Kelly [Olynyk], you have no choice but to play as hard as you can.”
If all the reports from the summer are accurate, Sullinger has made progress in this area. He’s not going to morph into Karl Malone overnight (or likely ever), but he can turn his doughy body into a muscular one. Kendrick Perkins is a great example.
As for the other guys, Brandon Bass is the odd man out. Stevens has to play the young guys. If Bass is getting 25+ minutes, then something has gone horribly wrong.
We’ve also heard Stevens talk about playing Jeff Green and Gerald Wallace at power forward this season. That might be necessary if other teams are going super small, but again, I’d rather the focus be on developer on young bigs than winning match-ups in meaningless games.
Related: CSNNE – C’s hope KO can make impact this season | MassLive – Faverani undergoes MRI | MWDN – Stevens pushing Sullinger | Herald – Fast pace worth weight for Sully
On Page 2… Rondo says he might be ready for opening night.
“Hopefully I won’t miss any games this year,” Rondo said in an exclusive interview with CSNNE’s Mike Gorman. “Lord willing I heal correctly and I’ll be back in no time.
“They’re telling me 6-to-8 [weeks]. But that means nothing to me.”
Gorman then asked if Rondo would be a possibility for Opening Night at the end of October.
“Always,” Rondo said.
“I’m sure they’re going to be very cautious and Danny [Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations] already said it. When I’m ready, like I said this isn’t my knee this is a finger.”
The Celtics start the season Wed, Oct 29 vs the Nets. That’s about 4 weeks from Rondo’s surgery date, leaving him 2-4 weeks shy of the initial prognosis.
I’ll never question Rondo’s toughness or dedication to return from injury.
In this case, I bet Rondo misses the first week of the season because there’s absolutely no need to rush him.
The rest of the links:
Herald – Thornton shoots to wow Celtics again | Jeff Green with another chance to lead | Globe – Stevens hopes C’s can pick up pace
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