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Kelly Olynyk could miss a couple of weeks

Alex Trautwig

Kelly Olynyk sustained a right ankle sprain when battling for a rebound in the second quarter of Boston's 97-82 loss to Indiana on Friday night. According to Brad Stevens, he will likely miss a couple of weeks, but that's not the only injury he has been battling.

Stevens: Ankle could cost Olynyk a couple weeks | Comcast SportsNet
"He had a little bit of a hamstring (injury) that he was dealing with too," Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told reporters on Saturday. "That scares me more because that can become a lingering thing."

As much as Olynyk's presence helps the Celtics, this injury which is forcing him to sit out games may very well be the best thing for him and the Celtics.

"Sometimes it's a blessing in disguise when you roll an ankle," Stevens said. "Let's hope that's the case in Kelly's situation."

It was a surprise to find out from Stevens that Olynyk was also suffering through a hamstring injury, which may have played a part in his struggles shooting the ball.

Olynyk is shooting 11-of-48 on mid-range jumpers and three-pointers this season, so I have speculated that the rookie big man wasn't completely recovered from the plantar fasciitis he suffered through in August.

With a flat release, something just didn't seem right, so I asked him about it before Friday night's game.

After a long pause, the 7-footer sighed and said, "I mean injuries are one of those things that could come back anytime, but it is feeling really good right now."

Unfortunately, Olynyk rolled his ankle later that night, and of course, could now be sidelined for a couple of weeks.

(Don't say that I jinxed him.)

As Brad Stevens said, this could be a blessing in disguise for the rookie out of Gonzaga. Olynyk has a long season (and career) ahead of him, and like he said to me, injuries can come back at any time.

Now, it's important to speed past these nagging injuries and get them in the rearview mirror.

Veteran power forward Brandon Bass will start in place of Olynyk tonight, and will continue to for the foreseeable future.

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