Boston Celtics: 3 Players that impacted win over Warriors

Boston Celtics that impacted win: Daniel Theis

The Boston Celtics relied heavily on Daniel Theis on both ends of the floor in this game, and he delivered for his team in the form of eight points and 11 rebounds. In 29 minutes, he recorded a plus/minus of +24, the best on the team. 

He got his usual tough whistle as the war on Theis rolls on, but he protected the rim extremely well on Tuesday night, not allowing any easy buckets for the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr.

Along with Williams and Thompson, he also contributed two offensive rebounds to the Boston Celtics’ total, outrebounding Golden State in that category by six.

On the offensive end, his shot has vaulted back into reliable status, after losing his stroke last year in the playoffs. Coming off of a 33 percent shooting clip from downtown in the 2019-20 season, the fourth-year German product is hitting his threes at a 38 percent rate this year.

He has become more aggressive in that area in his game, attempting 1.9 per contest, and has quickened his release as well.

He can now get his shot off over oncoming defenders, while in years past he would need to be wide open. Along with this deep shot, Theis has become a lethal mid-range shooter, shooting a career-best 71.6 percent on his two-point attempts this year.

This allows the big to often begin to roll to the rim off the pick-and-roll but suddenly stop at the 12-foot range to rise for an easy shot.

The elevation on his jump shot allows him to shoot effectively in tight spaces, something that has allowed his offensive game to continue to improve throughout his NBA career. Going into Tuesday’s contest, he was averaging a career-high 9.7 points in 23.2 minutes per game.

With Theis, Thompson, and Williams, the Boston Celtics get much-needed production from their secondary players, propelling them to a win over Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.