Heat's Kelly Olynyk finding his role in the lineup

Miami Heat forward Kelly Olynyk becoming a key contributor off the bench

Miami Heat forward Kelly Olynyk has learned to expect playing a different role each night.

It has led to him having one of the better training camps for the Heat in the last two weeks. Olynyk is coming off a 27-point, eight-rebound performance in Saturday's 101-99 scrimmage loss to the Utah Jazz in Orlando and likely will have an expanded role once the regular seasons restarts.

"Roles are always ever changing," Olynyk said. "Not only with us but the whole league. For me, I'm just trying to come in with this restart and helps us win a championship. Obviously, right now my role is to give a lot of action off the bench and hopefully contributing in a positive manner."

Olynyk was playing his best basketball just before the season shutdown March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. He scored in double-figures in six of 10 games prior the stoppage of play. Still, a four-month break hasn't slowed his momentum. With the team now back at full strength, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has the tough task finding Olynyk's spot in the rotation. 

"We've had a lot of guys stand out during camp," Spoelstra said. "He's had one of the better camps. He's in tremendous shape right now. He's really worked at in May and June. Before we stopped play, he was playing his best basketball of the season. He's just continuing to play good basketball. He's really confident."

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here