Boston Celtics: Can Tristan Thompson be the answer?

The Boston Celtics signed Tristan Thompson over the offseason to help anchor down their center position. However, after Joel Embiid had his way with the team on Wednesday scoring 42 points, is the veteran center really the answer?

Last year in the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo dominated in his matchup with Daniel Theis, springing questions on how the Boston Celtics can upgrade their big man position.

By signing Thompson, GM Danny Ainge wanted to incorporate a bigger body than the 6-8 Theis in the postseason, hopefully being able to hold up in the post and grab more rebounds.

Embiid Dominated in his first matchup against the Boston Celtics this year

He shot a total of 21 free throws while shooting 12-of-19 from the field. In 21 minutes Thompson recorded two points and nine rebounds while picking up five fouls.

Daniel Theis had one of the best offensive games of his career, shooting 10-of-11 for 23 points, but also had 5 fouls in 27 minutes. Boston’s bigs have failed to guard Embiid effectively without fouling, resulting in easy points for the MVP-candidate.

Sure, the Celtics were without Robert Williams, who has perhaps been the best center on the team so far this season, but he cannot hold up physically against the bigger Embiid. He presents more intrigue as a help defender against Philadelphia’s interior passing, but cannot guard Joel in the post.

Thompson presents Boston with the best chance of limiting the best big man in the East from a purely physical perspective. They have played against each other eight times in their career, resulting in a 4-4 record.

In those games, Embiid averaged 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.6 blocks. Although those numbers are great for a traditional big man, limiting the likely All-Star starter to under 22 points is a win for Celtics fans.

On the other hand, Thompson has had a good amount of offensive success for himself. He has averaged 11 points and 11.5 rebounds over those eight games.

Those numbers are likely to decrease with his limited role in the Celtics system, but he has shown decent success on the defensive end. In comparison, in the 15 games between Embiid and Theis, the former has averaged 26.3 points and 12.8 rebounds, a substantial increase. This makes sense, as his physical advantage makes it extremely hard for the fourth-year man to defend without fouling.

Many fans wanted the Boston Celtics to trade for Pacers’ center Myles Turner in the offseason, but he might have not faired too well either. Although he’s playing at a defensive player of the year pace so far this season, averaging over four blocks a game, Embiid has had his number.

Over the ten games they have played against each other, he has recorded 28.4 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

That’s even better than his matchup against Theis.

Similarly, he has averaged 27.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in seven games against Andre Drummond, winning six of them. The potential acquisitions of both Turner and Drummond present interesting wrinkles in the Boston Celtics’ rotation, but they have not had any sort of success at stopping Embiid in their careers.

Sure, the one-game sample size between the two teams doesn’t look great on the defensive side of the ball, but let’s wait to make judgments.

The historical numbers indicate that Thompson has a decent chance at limiting the superstar, and that’s what the Boston Celtics signed him to do.