Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Kelly Olynyk and his coaches have a longer wait than expected, as the Celtics forward attempts to nail down a doctor’s appointment. The idea is to get clearance for contact with his surgically repaired right shoulder.
Olynyk was originally scheduled to meet with the doctor during last week’s exhibition road trip in New York, but the appointment was ultimately postponed.
Ainge said that while Olynyk is on schedule in his recovery, he’s not quite ready for contact.
Said Stevens: “We sent in all of our latest results, and hopefully he gets a chance ASAP to meet with (the doctor).”
A professional athlete having trouble securing a doctor’s appointment?
While this story seems absurd on the surface, it’s really not. The Celtics trainers know Kelly Olynyk’s surgically repaired right shoulder is not ready for contact, thus there isn’t a rush to get him before a doctor. But Brad Stevens’ comments do make you wonder what the hell is going on.
When Olynyk had surgery back in May, we were told the recovery time was approximately 5 months. He’s reached the 5 month mark. It’s safe to say KO won’t be ready for the season opener on October 26th. I’m guessing he’s back by the second week of November.
On Page 2, Hunter and Young are fighting to the death for the 15th spot.
Both players know that the final roster spot will likely come down to the Celtics choosing one of them over the other.
And to their credit, neither is making this an easy decision for Ainge and his staff.
Hunter, who is coming off his best game in the preseason on Saturday when he had 17 points in 15 minutes, drilled a 3-pointer seconds after entering the game on Monday.
Young was even more impressive.
Throughout most of training camp, Young has made a living off of doing the little things such as hustling for loose ball, making the extra pass which leads to a made basket.
But in the third quarter on Monday, Young reminded those at the TD Garden that he could in fact score the ball as he ran off eight points in the quarter while making all three of his shot attempts.
Well… it’s about damn time.
Even though Young is playing a more well-rounded game, I still like RJ Hunter.
Regardless, neither is going to see much court time because of the improved play of Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown:
Oh yeah, the Celtics improved to 5-1 this preseason with last night’s 120-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The rest of the links
ESPN Boston – Celtics can make some legitimate noise | Globe – Nets coach expects Celtics to thrive on defense | Celtics clocks Nets at Garden | Mass Live – Scary that Horford should help Celtics defense
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