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Boston Celtics: Assessing Daniel Theis’ two way impact

By Joshua Bateman

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 24: Daniel Theis #27 of the Boston Celtics reacts to a call in the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 24,2018 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 24: Daniel Theis #27 of the Boston Celtics reacts to a call in the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 24,2018 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Daniel Theis’ two way impact is the key to a role on the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have a lot of different things to figure out with their bigs. Al Horford will continue to have one of the most crucial roles on the team, but it is difficult to determine what things will look like beyond him.

After last season, Daniel Theis has an opportunity to jump up the depth chart and be the closest thing they have to Horford’s two way impact.

No other option will come close to being as effective or impactful as Horford right now, but Theis’ two way potential is the closest they will get to it right now. He is versatile and can be trusted on offense, the question is if he will be effective enough on either end.

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Right now, the offense is still a big question mark. With the way he plays, he needs to be hitting his open shots. He will never be creating anything on offense, but they absolutely need reliability with him.

Right now, This still has a ways to go before he can establish that trust on offense. Defense, however, is his strength and is the best way to keep getting minutes.

Theis was a fierce rebounder, who held his own in the paint. There will be size out there that can overwhelm him, but he fits nicely with what Stevens is looking for. He is agile and quick, and is compfortable switching to the outside.

He is able to stay in front of quicker players, and prevent most matchups from attacking and abusing him in any way. That defense is the key to Theis getting the minutes he needs to showcase his true two way impact.

With defensive trust comes offensive opportunities, and Theis will be in a lot of positions to succeed. He will have a lot of space, and defenses will not be able to account for him on the outside.

There are all kinds of playmakers around him that will bring easy buckets, but he needs to make it more clear that he can always be trusted to hit those open shots.

Theis is one of the more intriguing options on the Celtics, and could be the first big coming off the bench. Last season was still a pretty small sample, so he has a ways to go in order to establish the trust that he needs.

Last season was still enough to make sure he gets somebody opportunities. Struggles on defense would make it too difficult for him to have an impact on defense, but if he can improve on last season, he can have a consistent and important role on the team.

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