Boston Celtics: Grading every player from the 2019-20 season

Daniel Theis’s grade: B+

Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics surprisingly let go of Aron Baynes to clear up some cap space after Al Horford chose to walk in free agency, but that left a considerable void at center. The two likely competitors were Daniel Theis and sophomore Robert Williams. Theis was the frontrunner for the center position, at least for the beginning of the season, but the younger Williams looked like he was going to take over at some point. With Williams getting struck by injuries, the small ball Celtics needed at the short 6′ 8″ Theis to be the one to control the interior.

Offensively, Theis helped create for others mostly through picks, making 4.3 screen assists per game, accrediting for 10.0 points off-screen assists a night. Even though his impact did not show on the stat sheet, he still managed to score 9.2 points per game while shooting 57 percent.

On defense, although Theis was not the team’s best defender, he was generally a great versatile inside guy, able to defend nearly every big man he faced remarkably. He does not foul often and has not had many matchups that over dominated him. Even though he did not seem overly spectacular on defense, without Theis, the Celtics incredibly defensive would have likely taken a dramatic dip.

On both ends of the court, Theis executed his job perfectly. With many other talented players on the court, all the Celtics needed at the center position was consistency, and Theis was able to bring what the Celtics desperately needed. His quiet emergence into a reliable center allowed the Celtics to get to the Eastern Conference Finals, and no matter what the Celtics do this offseason, Theis will continue to provide that constancy for them next year.