Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Olynyk’s time has come
Center hopes shot will follow; Okpala details his ‘glitches’
It is a somewhat odd juxtaposition. For Kelly Olynyk, the shots haven’t been falling but the confidence has been rising.
Despite his uneven 3-point shooting, the veteran 7-footer is in the midst of one of the most stable stretches of his four-season Miami Heat tenure, with 14 consecutive starts going into Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks at American-Airlines Arena.
But there also was the reality of his 4-of-32 3-point shooting in the previous eight games.
With a career high of 36 starts, in 2018-19 with the Heat, when he started the season’s final 31 games, even during this shortened 72-game season there is a chance to eclipse that total, with 27 starts going into Sunday.
“I mean, obviously, it’s nice to play consistently like that,” Olynyk said Sunday. “For me and us right now, we’re just trying to do whatever we can to climb our way back up the standings and get back in the right state of mind.”
All while attempting to maintain an equilibrium amid his uneven shooting.
“Obviously,” he said, “those shots haven’t been going in the way you want this year, especially recently. But I just got to keep shooting, keep playing the role.
“They’re good shots for our team, and that’s kind of what’s it’s about is making good shots for the team.”
Stability largely has been an abstract for Olynyk during his Heat tenure. So there is an appreciation when it is in place. Going into Sunday, the Heat had outscored the opposition by 50 points with Olynyk on the court. The only Heat player with a better plus-minus was Jimmy Butler, at 76. “Right now,” Olynyk said, “it’s just about everybody playing you[r] role and contributing positively to wins. Sometimes it’s not the role that you think of or want, but it’s just the role you have to play to help our team win. Just having that stable unit, rotation, role definitely it aids in that.”
Okpala and glitches
Second-year forward KZ Okpala, the 2019 secondround pick out of Stanford, offered insight Sunday into the reasoning behind his limited court time.
“I just need to be accountable, no glitches, just always be accountable for my teammates,” he said, “and in certain situations I had some glitches. But I’m never discouraged and I’m always ready to keep going, just putting days to get there and being professional.”
It is that consistency and preparedness that Okpala said have become his focus.
“Just definitely my IQ,” he said, “just make sure defensively, and offensively, no glitches and making sure I’m making sure I’m in the right spots and just understand the game better.”
No DJJ encore
Former Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. has decided not to defend his dunk championship during All-Star Sunday, according to Portland Trail Blazers team reporter Casey Holdahl.
Jones won the competition last season while with the Heat, defeating Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon in a competition that raised questions about the scoring, including from former Heat guard Dwyane Wade.
Jones signed with the Trail Blazers in the offseason as a free agent.
With All-Star Weekend reduced to a single day amid the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s dunk contest will be conducted at halftime of the March 7 All-Star Game in Atlanta.