Free agent addition Kelly Olynyk has dropped 16 pounds and made changes to his game since coming to Miami, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Olynyk believes the weight loss has made him more mobile, and he is tied for the early-season league lead in drawing charges.
“You’re trying to beat somebody to a spot, and if they’re going to go through you, then you got to go down,” Olynyk explained. “In this league and the way it’s played today, sometimes if you try to stand your ground and try to resist and you go into them, now they flop and now it’s your fault. So why take the risk? It’s a turnover, it’s your ball and now you’re going the other way.”
Olynyk’s four-year, $50MM deal includes a $1MM bonus if he plays 1,700 minutes this season, a figure he never reached in his four seasons with Boston.
There’s more news out of Miami:
- Starting center Hassan Whiteside began drills Friday with assistant coach Juwan Howard, but still isn’t ready for a full practice, Navarro adds in the same story. Whiteside has missed four straight games with a bone bruise in his left knee. The Heat prefer that their players participate in a full-contact practice before being cleared for games. “We’re going to be in constant communication as he rehabs and does treatment and starts to get back into the mix and that’s why we’re just continuing to say he’s day by day, because that’s what he is,” said coach Erik Spoelstra.
- If not for the season-ending injury to Gordon Hayward, tonight would have been the Heat’s first meeting with a player they tried hard to get in free agency, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Miami was among three finalists for Hayward, along with Boston and Utah, and waited through and waited four days before he announced his intention to join the Celtics. “We loved the meeting with Gordon,” Spoelstra said. “There’s a reason why we recruited him. And we thought it went well. You just never know how those things are going to play out.”
- Rookie guard Matt Williams, who was assigned to the G League today, only used up three of his allotted NBA days this week, Winderman tweets. Williams, who is limited to 45 days in his two-way contract, spent four games with the team before being demoted. The clock didn’t start until Monday when G League training camps opened, Thursday didn’t count because the Heat had an off day and Friday was considered a travel day as Williams headed for Sioux Falls. The 3-point specialist didn’t get into a game for Miami.
The season would normally be starting around now, so most teams are probably still not entirely in rhythm to start the season. That being said, it’s felt like the Heat are being too cute with what they’re doing. They’re playing through James Johnson and Olynyk too much, and Dragic and the other guards aren’t getting enough early touches in the possession, and aren’t being aggressive and attacking like they usually do. The other thing that’s happening is nobody is even looking at the rim when they attack the basket, which obviously hurts the drive and kick b/c you can anticipate passes if we aren’t trying to finish and score at the rim. Also, we’re playing a 7 man rotation the last 2 games, which seems drastic. We haven’t shot the ball well in the 2nd half of games, and part of that is not having Ellington or Okaro out there to help in that regard while McGruder is out, and the other part is what I was saying before. Teams are realizing they don’t have to contain the paint b/c we aren’t looking to score, and they can close out to our shooters easier. Meanwhile, we’re getting pounded on the offensive glass without Whiteside b/c we don’t have Reed anymore, and for some reason UD doesn’t see minutes, even against Aldridge and Gasol, and Okaro hasn’t had playing time either, and he competes on the glass. Aldridge, Gasol, and Horford took big advantage against Bam, Olynyk, JJ, and Winslow inside, and I don’t think that happens with UD on the floor…
It’s cool though. Spo does this every year, to be honest. He messes with the rotation early on just for the sake of seeing different situations. I just don’t like throwing away games on purpose in the regular season, despite that, considering there will be a lot of teams fighting for the same spots this year. I do anticipate things getting smoother in the next week or 2 though. At least everyone else is dealing with the shorter training camp as well, and once Whiteside is back, it should help in certain areas I mentioned. The game is better paced without him though
Heat have also been getting beaten to a lot of loose balls so far…thats something McGruder was very good at
That was good enough a write to compel me to look up UD. It’s been a rough year for ex-Flyers in the NBA so you would not mean the University of Dayton.
There’s a story I suppose, why UDonis is not UH.
Its just been his nickname forever…