Igniting Afterburner: How Kelly Olynyk can most help Miami Heat title push

Should the Miami Heat still be thinking “title” after the last few games, who knows? However, here’s how Kelly Olynyk can most help to make that a reality.

The Miami Heat are coming off one of their worst losses of the season, which has only been a microcosm of one of their worst stretches of basketball all season long. After losing to Atlanta to return from the All-Star break and although they smashed Cleveland on Dwyane Wade‘s Flashback day, they would then turn around and take a crushing defeat at the hands of the Cavs after being up big in that game. This is only compounded by the fact that they lost a game on Wednesday night to a team that was winless across their last 18 games or so.

In any situation, there is still time to make this right and I am sure they will do so. You have to account for the fact of the new acquisitions and them still getting themselves fully acclimated into the system.

You also take inventory of the fact that Jimmy Butler returned on Wednesday after missing the last two games for personal reasons, while Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard are both still out with leg injuries. While we are on Meyers Leonard though, while he is missed, and while it will be awesome when he returns, his replacement hasn’t been bad at all.

After listening to the trade rumors for much of the season, Kelly Olynyk has really stepped his game up over the past few contests. While he has been making the same plays and hitting the same big shots that he has been over the course of his Heat tenure, he has been doing it with more consistency over the past few contests than he has during any other stretch this season. This takes us into how Kelly Olynyk can most help the Miami Heat’s second-half title push.

It’s not that hard. He must continue to knock down his open shots, be a facilitator from a big man’s position, be his same pesky, bothersome, and annoying self on defense while tying it all together with being able to step into either role of the big man rotation when needed to for reserve, starters, or replacement minutes. Basically, what he has been doing with more consistency over the past five contests or so.

Kelly Olynyk is a classic YMCA guy and although one that’s seven feet tall, it means that he’s just a really good ballplayer, no bells and whistles. Those types of guys just do what they do all the time and it typically helps their teams win.

That’s the case here for our guy KO as well. KabOom Town!