If you need Daniel Theis, Daniel Theis is there. Toiling away under the basket, defending, watching the backs of his fellow Boston Celtics players.
The national basketball player from Salzgitter did not play a minute in the last three games against the Miami Heat in the final series of the Eastern Conference. But should he be sent to the start of the NBA finals against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night (3:00 a.m. CEST): Theis will do his job in the record champions’ defensive bulwark. That’s why they brought him back and that’s why the Celtics have the chance to win their 18th title.
“What a team,” Theis tweeted after the hard-fought final in seven games against the Miami Heat to a photo of himself with the Bob Cousy Trophy for victory in the NBA East Season. He also wrote: “Next stop final”. For the first time in the career of the pro, who plays as a forward or center. Opponent and favorite are the Golden State Warriors, who defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the Western Conference final series.
The 30-year-old from Lower Saxony is only the third German to have the chance to win the championship in the best basketball league in the world. Detlef Schrempf failed in 1996 with the Seattle Supersonics against Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Dirk Nowitzki had to admit defeat with the Dallas Mavericks against the Miami Heat in 2006 before he was the only German to lift the trophy for the title after winning 2011, also against Miami. Eleven years later, the dream of a repeat for the Mavericks around Maxi Kleber has burst, but Theis now has a great chance with the Celtics.
Celtics underdogs vs Warriors
The Celtics are outsiders against the Warriors around the stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but by no means without a chance – the defensive is too good, which is not played in this form by any other team in the league. “So other teams don’t know how to attack,” Theis recently reported in an interview with “Spox”. “We’re always there physically, even if we switch a lot, we let the opponent work all the time. The stops give us easy points and transition opportunities on the other side, it makes the offense so much easier. And yes, we don’t offer much attack surface. “
A central part of the Celtics defense is Robert Williams III, who is suffering from knee problems – and whose substitute is called Daniel Theis. “Nobody can play like Rob because nobody is as athletic, as fast and as long,” said Theis. Together with Al Horford, however, he showed at the beginning of the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets that the team can certainly compensate for the long guy’s absence. “We can also switch, we can defend the Pick’n’Roll as normal, we can protect the ring off the ball. It just looks a bit different with us than with Rob.” The return campaign by the Celtics, who traded him away last season, has paid off for the team.
The Celtics now have to hold out for two games at the Chase Center in San Francisco, which is feared for its volume, before the finals move on to Boston in the TD Garden for two games. After that, the teams alternately play in the far west or far east of the USA until one team has four wins. If Daniel Theis is needed on the way there, he will be there. And in two to three weeks he might be the second German champion in the NBA.