By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
After hitting 2-4 3-pointers in Friday’s (7/8) Boston Celtics‘ win over the Toronto Raptors, Daniel Theis said that he wants to be a permanent shooting threat that can seriously boost his team’s offense.
It’s something that will be quite useful for the Celtics, particularly during the playoffs and ahead of potential upcoming matchups vs. the Milwaukee Bucks or Raptors.
“It’s very important. especially against a team like Toronto or Milwaukee that pack the paint so much,” Theis said in a zoom call after the victory over Toronto. “Our guys get so much attention on the drives. I got to space on the court sometimes. Like today, when I was in the corner, to shoot it. My team trusts me and I got to knock down the shots.”
Theis, who finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds, made his triples from the corner and not the top of the key, his usual favorite shooting spot.
I had my screens in the corner. I don’t think I took many threes from the corner at all,” Theis said. “It’s good for me to see I can take some corner threes in the corner too so the coach knows he can put me in the corner too so that I can make some open shots.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens emphasized on Theis knowing when to take the shot when the opportunity comes.
“I think it’s important that he’s a threat. I think he balances it very well. He doesn’t chuck all night. He picks and chooses the right ones,” Stevens said.
If there’s something that pleases Stevens perhaps more than Theis’ 3-pointers and his shot selection, it’s the player’s ability to get his teammates involved after helping them get extra open looks from afar.
“He’s more than capable of making it but he also knows when to flip it to a guard who’s behind him and that guard ends up getting the shot because nobody is on Theis,” Stevens said. “He just has a nice feel for that. He’s got figured out how to get the most out of everyone around him. And I think that’s been his greatest strength all year.”