Daniel Theis is the X-Factor
I believe that Daniel Theis is the x-factor on the Celtics. The key to Boston winning it all this year. He started the year projected to be the backup center behind Kanter, and slowly solidified himself as the best big man on the C’s.
Theis plays the most important role on this team, in my eyes - the paint defender. There isn’t any other guy I would trust more than Daniel Theis to guard someone in the paint on the roster right now. Yes, Robert Williams III could be that guy in the future, but for right now it’s got to be Theis. There was a point at the start of the season where he was quietly averaging 2 blocks a game, and now he’s down to around 1.3 which is still pretty impressive. I mean, the guy was the MVP of the EuroLeague so I guess he was bound to be pretty solid, it just took a couple years.
Now that he’s established himself in the league as a quality starting center, I feel like it’s important to address just how much he does for the team. Without him on the roster, who would have been defending the paint for the C’s all season? Enes Kanter? Hell no. Theis is necessary to have on the floor at all times in order to stop defenders from easily getting to the rim.
Theis ranks in the top 50 in the league in defensive win shares, which are defined as “an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense.” The only players on the Celtics ranked higher than him in this category are Jayson Taum and Marcus Smart, none of whom are big men. Smart can guard the post pretty well for a guy his size, but that just won’t cut it when it comes to the 7 footers of the league.
Just for an idea of how solid Theis can be, when Embiid is guarded by Theis, which has happened for a total of 10:26 of game time this year, Embid shoots below 40% from the field and has three turnovers. I would consider Embiid to be one of, if not the best offensive center in the post throughout the league, so the fact that Theis has held him to below 40% is super telling of what he can do defensively. I see all these memes on Twitter about how Theis got cooked by Embiid this year, but I guess those guys just don’t check the stats.
Theis isn’t even that tall, standing at 6’ 8”, but he knows how to use positioning to play solid defense. In my opinion, he’s the closest thing the Celtics have to a replacement for Al Horford’s defense.
I’ve mainly been talking about the role Theis plays on defense, but his offense plays a huge part in Brad Steven’s system, too. There are three main things Theis does well that separate him from the crowd - hit threes, set screens, and seal off defenders. Theis has been shooting 32.1% from three this season. While it’s not a great percentage, just the fact that he, as a center, can hit those shots and space the floor is huge for the Boston offense. His screens are another reason he’s so valuable to the Celtics, too. My personal favorite is when he runs the high pick n’ roll with Kemba to get him a wide open three at the top of the key. It looks like a work of art. Then there’s the seal off. I think Theis is the best in the league at this play. He runs a pick n’ roll with the ball handler, rolls to the rim, but instead of looking for the pass he boxes out the defender to get the ball handler a wide open dunk or layup. It’s just a super gritty play that Theis is almost known for at this point in Boston.
With all this in mind, I think Theis could very well be the most important part to this Boston team’s success come August. If Tatum can play how he has been, Marcus and Jaylen can play elite defense, and Kemba and Hayward can hit their shots, Theis is the last piece of the puzzle. He just needs to keep up his defense and hit some threes. If Daniel Theis can lock down the paint, I see no reason the Boston Celtics can’t be the 2020 NBA Champs.
