NBA Playoffs: How Daniel Theis Became The Celtics’ Key In Game 5: Defensive Anchor And Zone Breaker

Daniel Theis played his possibly best playoff game to date in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. In the Boston Celtics’ 121: 108 win against the Miami Heat, the German international was everywhere and helped with the solution against the opponent’s most powerful weapon. These are the highlights of the game.

Hopefully Daniel Theis didn’t have an easy position against Miami on the series. On the one hand, for the direct duel with Bam Adebayo, the best Big Man in the Eastern Conference after Joel Embiid, who is one of the few Bigs against whom Theis does not have a speed advantage and who is much stronger.

On the other hand, the Heat at their best are a team you can easily look bad against. No team moves so well with the ball, it requires so much unconditional concentration. Miami punishes every numb rotation, and whoever rotates constantly has to puke from exhaustion at the end. Simply put, this is the key to (offensive) success.

The Celtics have seen him often in this series and even if Theis made few individual mistakes other than fouls, he couldn’t fill the many gaps that arose. Adebayo, in turn, dominated three games 20-10 in a row. Theis work was thankless, the challenge seemed too great more than once. In game 5 you could have this impression sometimes, until the third quarter.

Jaylen Brown praises Daniel Theis: “It was great”

After the tea break, not just the Celtics as a team, but Theis as a player as well, it seemed they had been replaced. One thing caused another, Theis played a big part in the turnaround that saved Boston from the season for the time being. At the end of the day he had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks, it was the second playoff double of his career.

“He was great today. If he plays like this, it’s very good for our team,” said Jaylen Brown, one of the best players with 28 points, the German international. “You have a pretty tough job every night. Big shout out to Theis.” Surely the recipient had earned it.

Theis opened the third quarter with new energy, even if coach Brad Stevens attested to it that he had already been a “ray of hope” at the first break. Stevens described the second half as “excellent,” which was evident on both ends of the court. Theis was involved in a series of scenes in the 20: 3 race in which the Celtics turned the course of the game completely upside down.

Daniel Theis as the Celtics X factor

He made several more difficult pitches defensively, including blocking a Jimmy Butler pitch (3 blocks total), although the goalkeeping decision should have been made here. He made several other more difficult shots, recorded a total of 10 contested shots (only Marcus Smart had one more), was close to both the basket and his own triple line.

Theis was also largely responsible for the fact that Miami no longer appeared on the offensive board in the second half. He led his team in both rebounding (13) and the pits (5). “I just wanted to be myself, especially on the defensive,” Theis himself said.

That’s what’s expected of him: His defensive intelligence and versatility have been key to Boston’s strong defense throughout the season. In this game he also proved to be an offensive X factor for once. Through him, Boston also gradually (finally) resolved the dreaded Miami area.

Daniel Theis’ playoff stats

Daniel Theis as zone breaker

The Heat had great success with this defense over the course of this series because the Boston player in the middle or at the height of the free throw line was often just a passer with no ambitions to score, regularly not even looking down the line. basket. This increased the pressure on the other four players; In Game 2, the Celtics appeared to solve this equation for the first time, but it wasn’t enough to even the series.

In this game it was different. Miami only unpacked the zone in the third quarter, but was quickly punished, also by Theis. Several times he was the player who found himself in the middle of the zone, but unlike previous games he also sought the conclusion himself. For example in this work.

After the pass, Andre Iguodala instinctively faces the outside to block Smart’s way, Adebayo has to leave the zone for a short time due to the 3-second rule. It doesn’t matter if Theis doubts, which he did many times on the show before, but he’s not doing it here. It’s a simple action, but this is how you break a zone.

Daniel Theis leads Boston in the Hustle

Nor was it his only contribution. Theis performed well on the offensive glass (5 offensive rebounds) and sank several putbacks, plus he was Boston’s most active blocker. 4 screen assists, that is, deals that he made possible directly with a set lock, went to his cap, from which Boston generated 10 more points.

“He was great in the middle of the zone today. He caught the ball twice and scored, and he was strong on the rebounding on both sides,” Stevens said. “We had very good performances from center position today,” which he also praised Theis substitute Enes Kanter, who had scored a little (8 points) directly into the basket in the lousy first half.

Bam Adebayo is to blame

The second part was from Theis, who did a double-double in this section alone and put Adebayo in the shade. Theis even accepted the offensive foul that Miami’s best player Goran Dragic threw out of the game just five minutes before the end of the game. All three remained a problem (0/2 in this game – 15.4 percent in the playoffs!). Otherwise, its performance was close to optimal.

It doesn’t get any easier, especially since Adebayo quickly took the blame for the loss and one can expect a reaction from the All-Star. Theis doesn’t usually win this singles match very often, but that’s not the point. You should just do everything you can to make sure your team has a chance, even if it involves thankless tasks.

Theis doesn’t know anything else. This is one of the reasons why the dream of the finals in Boston lives on for now.