Daniel Theis Remains One Of Celtics’ Unsung Heroes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisgrenham/2020/01/14/daniel-theis-remains-one-of-celtics-unsung-heroes/#3a59713868f4



Daniel Theis Remains One Of Celtics’ Unsung Heroes



Chris Grenham




Boston Celtics' Daniel Theis plays against the Toronto Raptors during the first half on an NBA ... [+]ASSOCIATED PRESS



Daniel Theis won’t be representing the Celtics at All-Star Weekend in Chicago next month, and he’s rarely the focus of a headline. But if you ask his teammates and coaches, they’ll tell you he’s vital to Boston’s success.

"He's an intricate part of our team,” Jaylen Brown said Monday morning. “He might not get the hype or the stats at the end of the game, but Theis is a big part of our team."

Brown’s right. A line of 7.4 points and six rebounds doesn’t necessarily jump off the page at you, but it’s what he does away from the ball that really matters. After signing a two-year, $10 million deal this past summer, Theis has quickly become one of the better values on Boston’s roster.

“Theis brings an athleticism to the game that we need at that five spot,” Brown added. “He moves very well for his size and he’s very disciplined in terms of knowing what he’s supposed to do on the pick-and-roll or catching the ball and making the right reads.”

Let’s take Jayson Tatum’s first career 40-point game as an example. First off, Tatum was tremendous and this is by no means taking away from his dominance against the New Orleans Pelicans. Of course, Theis isn’t the reason he reached the 40-point mark, but he certainly helped, and that’s worth noting.

Off-ball activity doesn’t bring home league-wide honors, but if it did, Theis would have some hefty accolades. His basketball IQ and movement away from the ball has improved tenfold since he arrived in Boston in 2017, and it’s paying dividends for the Celtics. Tatum just happens to be the latest beneficiary.

Take a look at one of his early drives to the basket while being guarded by Brandon Ingram, but keep an eye on Theis:

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Theis sets a very quick screen to briefly hinder Ingram’s route to Tatum, who uses it to get the defender on his back. Once Theis sees Tatum driving to the hoop, he does a nice job sealing the lane, preventing Ingram or Jaxson Hayes from meeting Tatum at the rim. Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward recently harped on the importance of easy first-quarter buckets — well here’s Theis helping Tatum get one.

Here’s an example of Theis setting back-t0-back screens to free up Tatum on the wing:

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Theis first breaks away from Jahlil Okafor at the foul line to set an off-ball screen on Ingram. When Tatum uses it, Theis pivots to stay with Ingram, setting another perimeter screen, which gives Tatum room for a step-back 3.

Sitting above the surface with all of these smart off-ball plays is Theis’ versatility. As Brown said, he’s athletic and moves very well for his size, but also presents enough of a threat on the perimeter where defenders need to give him a thought. No, he’s not a lights-out shooter where defenders will stick to him like glue on the perimeter, but they can’t leave him out there, either.

https://giphy.com/gifs/UvFBAKqplEZquHT7Mj?utm_source=iframe&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=Embeds&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.embedly.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Fsrc%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fgiphy.com%2Fembed%2FUvFBAKqplEZquHT7Mj%2Ftwitter%2Fiframe&%3Burl=https%3A%2F%2Fgiphy.com%2Fgifs%2FUvFBAKqplEZquHT7Mj&%3Bimage=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FUvFBAKqplEZquHT7Mj%2Fgiphy.gif&%3Bkey=3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935&%3Btype=text%2Fhtml&%3Bschema=giphy


Here, Theis comes up for a high-ball screen on Ingram and remains above the break after Tatum uses him. Ingram starts to pursue Tatum as he approaches Hayes at the foul line, but hedges to stay with Theis, giving Tatum enough cushion for an easy jumper. This isn’t necessarily a product of Theis’ basketball IQ, but more so a nod to his versatility — something that’s often taken for granted.

In other words, Ingram has to try and avoid this:

https://giphy.com/gifs/SqNF6vjxcZ4ShFGiph?utm_source=iframe&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=Embeds&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.embedly.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Fsrc%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fgiphy.com%2Fembed%2FSqNF6vjxcZ4ShFGiph%2Ftwitter%2Fiframe&%3Burl=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FSqNF6vjxcZ4ShFGiph%2Fgiphy.gif&%3Bimage=https%3A%2F%2Fi.giphy.com%2Fmedia%2FSqNF6vjxcZ4ShFGiph%2Fgiphy.gif&%3Bkey=3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935&%3Btype=text%2Fhtml&%3Bschema=giphy

The message here is rather simple: Daniel Theis is playing winning basketball, and he’s extremely valuable to this Celtics team in a number of ways. No, that’s not breaking news, but his role often is overlooked and it shouldn’t be.

Stevens said at Monday’s shootaround that Theis has been dealing with a “little bit of tendinitis,” in his right knee, resulting in his absence from Boston’s win over the Chicago Bulls. He’s been included on multiple injury reports over the last week, so consider this his latest piece of maintenance on the lingering ailment.

Knee injury or not, the Celtics need Theis to continue their winning ways.


bob


.

Theis makes the most of the skill-set he has. He's been a valuable member of the regular rotation.

Theis has been a big part of why the Cs have been successful this season. He has clearly played beyond what I would guess that even Stevens, Ainge or his teammates would have expected.

He is a hard working, selfless player who has more than already earned his salary for this season, in my opinion.

Hard to disagree with DBOSS's thought on Theis, "There are guys on every team that may not put up big numbers but their value, their fit for what is needed makes a big difference".

"There are guys on every team that may not put up big numbers but their value, their fit for what is needed makes a big difference"

LOL, that sounds very much like something I read in a Brian Scalabrine argument back in the day. For the record, I was pro-Scal.