We’re not a fan of April Fool’s jokes at Dime, especially when they involve Hollywood-level makeup jobs on an already unique looking NBA player. Did Kelly Olynyk really need to stick out any further? The long hair, headband, billygoat beard, and T-Rex arms make him one of the most recognizable players in the NBA.
Couldn’t the Boston Celtics have put some prosthetics on Brandon Bass? Perhaps Tyler Zeller? But here’s the worst part about Olynyk’s horribly swollen eye from aesthetic and basketball perspectives: It’s very, very real.
During shootaround prior to Wednesday’s key matchup with the Indiana Pacers, the sophomore big man took a hard elbow to the face from reserve Shavlik Randolph. Here’s Celtics Brad Stevens on the incident via A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com:
“Kelly was playing his typical, one-one-one pregame with Shavlik and got elbowed in the eye,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “His eye blew up and so he went to the ophthalmologist to get sutured up and hopefully get some swelling down. It swelled up right away. I’d say he’s very unlikely tonight but I have not heard the final word from the doctors.”
Boston officially listed Olynyk as doubtful on the pregame injury report, but he apparently inherited some of that hallowed hockey player toughness growing – the Canada native was just put in the game and promptly drilled a corner three-pointer. Impressive, especially considering it seems like he should barely be able to see the rim at all.
The Celtics lead the Pacers 20-16 at the end of one. Here’s hoping Olynyk’s toughness is rewarded with a stellar performance.
