Boston Celtics

Good news for Boston: Kelly Olynyk looks like an offensive star

Published Jan. 25, 2016 9:45 a.m. ET

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The Boston Celtics are filled with young, inexperienced talent that's still in the early stages of development. Big man Kelly Olynyk is a perfect example, but over the past few weeks the seven footer has started to look more like a finished product (at least on the offensive end).

Here's more from SB Nation's Celtics Blog:

Since the January 12th decision to start utilizing more small ball lineups, KO has stolen much of the spotlight as the most improved player of the month. As his confidence grows, he's made the biggest strides in development and blossomed into the perfect big man in Brad Stevens' offense. He's shown that the more versatile you are, the more you can lift up your team and after a 1-6, several of his teammates have stepped up and propelled the team to its recent 5-2 stretch.

We've seen the highlights. Remember that follow-up dunk on Charlotte that came out of nowhere and surprised literally everyone who saw it live?

Kelly Olynyk with the follow up slam! pic.twitter.com/wrfaLjxySu
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 24, 2015

Or the lethal jab step that had Olynyk looking more like a Jedi master than a power forward?

He's shooting 43.4 percent behind the three-point line, and only needs three more triples to surpass the number of makes he had all last season. That's impressive, and a sign of serious growth.

But even better is how comfortable he looks with the ball in his hands. He's launching pull-up jumpers, flashing nifty post moves and making plays off the bounce.

Olynyk has a long way to go before he's a legitimate All-Star candidate (averaging more than 20 minutes per game would be a start), but the 24-year-old is definitely on the right track.