Kelly Olynyk, for reasons known only to Coach Spoo, played 44 and a half minutes out of a possible 48 in this game. That’s the most minutes he has ever played. He took that time to score 22 points and grab 11 boards; meanwhile, Hassan “Why Do I Have To Watch The Whitest Player Ever From The Bench” Whiteside needed only 20 minutes to put up 18 and 15 on the same amount of attempts and makes. I’m just showing those stats to show those stats; I am not making any commentary on what I think the minutes distribution should be in Miami.
And even if I don’t specifically agree with Spoo’s decisions with Olynyk and Whiteside, I do agree that Ryan Anderson should get 0 minutes.
Whatever the reason, playing Olynyk so many minutes worked out. The Heat won, securing the 8th seed (whoopee!) over the Hornets at least temporarily. And their defense was good even with him on the court, which is weird because he definitely does not have the appearance of a good defender. Not because he’s white or anything, but because he looks like Luis Scola kinda and that dude couldn’t defend Yi’s chair.