Frankly, I was not sure if Danny Ainge would ink Daniel Theis to a new deal, but it looks like a good move. Theis is signed for two years at a total of $10 million, with the second year non-guaranteed. With the departure of big men Al Horford and Aron Baynes, rolling the dice on Theis could work very well.
In his first season in Boston, Daniel just kept improving. For the pre-All-Star stretch, he averaged 14.5 minutes/Game, 5.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG while shooting 52% on field goals and 30% on treys. Post-All-Star his minutes increased to 18.4 per game, his points to 7.8/game and his boards to 5.3/game. And he shot 68% on field goals and 40% on 3-pointers. Then a meniscus tear shut him down. His minutes and production took a hit last season, in part most likely due to lagging recovery from the injury.
Right now he is playing on German's entry in the FIBA World Cup. In a game versus The Czech Rebublic, he scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, passed off for three assists and blocked two shots. The highlight video can be seen below:
Theis is now listed at 6'8" and 243 pounds. His pre-draft weight showed 215 pounds, so it is quite possible that we may see additional muscle and strength in Daniel this season. He has the versatility Brad Stevens looks for. His shots in the FIBA contest were from everywhere - beyond the arc, mid-range and in-close. We know he can rebound and block shots. And he can defend at the perimeter. If he has fully recovered from the knee issue, we may see even more improvement in his game. That would be enough to get him minutes in the mid-20's at both the five and the four. It's nice to have Theis back in the fold.
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and @_Celtics_Center
In his first season in Boston, Daniel just kept improving. For the pre-All-Star stretch, he averaged 14.5 minutes/Game, 5.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG while shooting 52% on field goals and 30% on treys. Post-All-Star his minutes increased to 18.4 per game, his points to 7.8/game and his boards to 5.3/game. And he shot 68% on field goals and 40% on 3-pointers. Then a meniscus tear shut him down. His minutes and production took a hit last season, in part most likely due to lagging recovery from the injury.
Right now he is playing on German's entry in the FIBA World Cup. In a game versus The Czech Rebublic, he scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, passed off for three assists and blocked two shots. The highlight video can be seen below:
Daniel Theis Germany NT Highlights vs Czech Republic (17 pts, 6 reb, 3 a... https://t.co/FB8BwlRVJZ via @YouTube
— Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) August 18, 2019
Theis is now listed at 6'8" and 243 pounds. His pre-draft weight showed 215 pounds, so it is quite possible that we may see additional muscle and strength in Daniel this season. He has the versatility Brad Stevens looks for. His shots in the FIBA contest were from everywhere - beyond the arc, mid-range and in-close. We know he can rebound and block shots. And he can defend at the perimeter. If he has fully recovered from the knee issue, we may see even more improvement in his game. That would be enough to get him minutes in the mid-20's at both the five and the four. It's nice to have Theis back in the fold.
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and @_Celtics_Center
We need Theis to provide some good PF minutes this season. He can't cover traditional centers, but he should be able to be a stretch four for the Cs when they run more traditional lineups as opposed to small ball.
ReplyDeleteHe looked good in the vid, but not the highest level of competition. He is still only 27 and I expect he will keep improving. And thanks for your support. I am writing for CausewayStreet.com and TheCelticsCenter.com, and CelticsCenter is taking off. The owner is top-notch, but as always, only 2 of us doing any quantity of writing (also named Justin).
DeleteTheis should be useful at power forward against teams like say Philadelphia. Vincent Poirier was great in France's victory over Brazil while we were playing Spain--16 points, 7 boards, 4 dimes. Tomasz Kordylewski has put together a nice video of his highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRT2_LIyUFg
DeleteJustin Quinn sent me a link where The Morning Dump (which you told me about) used the Tweet I made from Kordylewski's vid for my article on Theis (seen above). The guy does a great job.
Deletehttps://thesportsdaily.com/2019/08/18/your-morning-dump-where-there-is-one-roster-spot-left-for-team-usa-r1a1/
Theis had very similar points, rebounds, assists numbers to Poirier--totaled up the numbers are almost identical. Timi always does a thorough job, but it's Poirier whom I am excited about. He might be a sleeper asset on our roster--might be better than Baynes was already, as he seems to have better hands.
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