Celtics' Kelly Olynyk likely out against Hawks, could still dance with the stars
Boston has been without big man Kelly Olynyk since January 22nd's visit to Portland. His absence has translated into a different looking Celtics over the last 2 1/2 weeks (5-5 in the win/loss column) with line-ups stretching no higher than the 6'9 Sullinger and featuring glimpses into the future via this year's rookies. It would appear these trends will continue as they wrap up the 1st half of the season tomorrow night — against the Eastern Conference leading Hawks — most likely, minus Olynyk.
Stevens doesn't anticipate Olynyk being available against Atlanta. Big man won't practice today. Has done some stationary shooting.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) February 10, 2015
Stevens says he doubts Olynyk (ankle) will play Wednesday. "No idea" if he'll play in Rising Stars, but won't hold him out if healthy.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) February 10, 2015
Speaking of the Rising Stars Challenge...if healthy enough by Friday, it would be great to see Kelly compete in his second consecutive All Star weekend. It would also be significant to have him representing the team since without Olynyk, a Boston presence will be nonexistent for the first time in over a decade.
As reported by Zack Cox at NESN, Brad Stevens said:
If he’s healthy and would be able to play for us, we think it’s a good thing to play. Even though it will be more of an All-Star-type of game, it’s still good to get out and run around a bit if you haven’t been able to do anything for the last couple of weeks.
Being just a few days out from the Rising Stars event, it would seem things need to escalate rather quickly for Olynyk to hold onto his slot.
Re: Kelly Olynyk's particpation in Rising Stars, I'm told there's no actual deadline to decide, but NBA would rather know sooner than later.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) February 10, 2015
I love that Kelly won't be held back from participating in the event, if he's deemed ready by the Celtics staff. I do have one small request, IF he heads to New York this weekend — will someone please rehearse with him before filming a dance montage? I'm confident he has more rhythm than this and would welcome the opportunity to redeem himself. Olynyk made 3 appearances (the .37, 1:15 and 1:35 marks) in last year's "NBA Gets Happy" video:
Steph sidebar: Has anyone else been waiting for Kelly to try putting his hair in a "man bun?" No, just me? Well, it happened and was documented on Olynyk's Instagram account last night.
Not only did he make blizzard-living look easy, modeling the shirtless-under-a-vest look but the bun is kind of a big deal. I don't think I've spotted his hair pulled back since Summer League when Kelly jokingly addressed hairstyle decisions affecting his play. I do wonder how his hair doesn't drive him crazy during a game. Perhaps the bun will make its official debut upon Olynyk's return. Let "bun watch" 2015 commence.
Video credit: NBA.com, part of Turner Sports Digital, Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network
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