Daniel Theis expected to return to the lineup against the Houston Rockets
When the season began, very few would have thought that Daniel Theis‘ health would have been important to the Boston Celtics, but that is the reality we are living in. Theis has been steady all season long, and started to surge out of the All Star break.
Theis got his first start, and really did not disappoint in any way. Theis has emerged as a great rotation player, who could easily get more and more opportunities with the first unit. Theis is is becoming vital to what they want to do on defense, and everyone is relieved that his hamstring issue is minor, and he is ready to get back on the court.
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The Celtics have a lot of young versatile bigs, but Theis is the one who is separating himself this season. He may not be the strongest, but he is a capable defender who puts in work on the boards. When the shots are falling for him, he becomes that three and D undersized big that the Celtics have spent a lot of time looking for, and that is valuable to almost anything the Celtics will want to do.
He brings stability and consistency to a second unit that has very little, and is looking like the most complete and well rounded option to play next to Al Horford. Theis is not a major impact or game changing player, but he is turning into exactly what you want in a role player, and the Celtics need as much of that as possible right now.
Especially against a team like the Rockets, the Celtics cannot win based on hero ball and individual talent. They need their overall units to be getting any advantage they can, and Theis has to be a part of that.
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Theis helps the Celtics get comfortable, and keeps the defense honest, He will not break the game against the Rockets, but the Celtics cannot afford to have any rotation guys play like a liability, Theis is the kind of advantage that the Rockets may not be preparing to fight, and him being healthy and playing well is absolutely a factor in one of the bigger games of the season