Boston Celtics: It’s do-or-die time for Daniel Theis

Daniel Theis is back to playing the center position for the Boston Celtics due to COVID-19-related protocols for several other bigs. It’s time for him to solidify his role in Beantown.

This season is a weird one in every conceivable way for the Boston Celtics and the 29 (potentially 31 in the future) teams in the NBA. Obviously, fans not being in the stands outside of a select few states is the strangest transition, but dealing with COVID-19 health and safety protocols is also a brand new wrench into the plans of head coaches all over the league.

Steve Nash has had to pretty constantly adjust on the fly, losing Kevin Durant to the protocols recently–and that’s after already losing Spencer Dinwiddie for the season with a torn ACL. Brooklyn’s season (and the Kyrie Irving-KD era) could take a significant hit with the effects of the pandemic.

Luckily Brad Stevens has a lot more continuity in his lineup. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Daniel Theis and Marcus Smart all returned to the starting five last season, and Tristan Thompson was starting in place of Kemba Walker–who remains out with knee issues. Semi Ojeleye, a longtime rotational piece, is now able to step in for Thompson.

Things are all fine and dandy, just as they were last regular season.

Is that what the ceiling is in Boston, though? The Cs need a winner, with the Los Angeles Lakers chasing banner #18 too for the very first time.

With the Celtics winning twice as many games as they lose this season (a standard Titletown holds for its greatest franchise) making grand changes is wholly unnecessary. As of now, though, its a stretch to say Boston looks like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

That could change when Robert Williams comes back. So far, he has proven to be the most effective center in spurts for the Boston Celtics. He, Grant Williams and Tristan Thompson will miss the next week of games. 

When Thompson comes back, he need not lose his starting role in favor of Williams, but there should be more of a timeshare at center.

Ojeleye is currently proving his worth as a stretch-four. Theis has not.

The Houdini has no problem stopping my war on Theis, but he needs to prove that he could be a traditional power forward quickly, because it’s do-or-die time for the impending free agent.

Tacko Fall just grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots in 19 minutes off the bench in a win against the Wizards. For obvious reasons (including and mostly limited to not being seven-foot-five) Theis isn’t capable of such a feat.

He needs to prove capable of contributing to a contender, and he needs to do it quickly.