Daniel Theis' Top 5 Performances from the 2019-20 Season

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Daniel Theis is the most underrated player in Boston’s starting five. Each and every night, he provides the team with the little things it needs in order to win: defense, screen-setting, rim-rolling, communication, and more.

Rarely do his statistics pop off the paper due to his role, but Theis will occasionally stumble into a hot night where his simple, yet effective game turns in a big stat line. Below are his top five performances of the season to date.

There were two Celtics stars during this game: Daniel Theis and Jayson Tatum. Tatum led the way with 33 points and 11 rebounds, but it was Theis who packed the most punch into the least amount of playing time among Boston’s starters. Theis made six of his nine field goal attempts, including a 6-for-7 performance from inside the arc, to go along with seven rebounds, one assist and one steal during less than 26 minutes of action. Boston outscored Utah by 13 points while he was on the court, which trailed only Marcus Smart’s plus-20 for the best mark in the game. His six made shots in the game are tied for his fourth-highest total of the season.

Setting a new career high is a good way to plug a game onto this list. That’s exactly what Theis did Nov. 20 in Los Angeles, when he tallied a career-best six assists. He committed only one turnover while setting up his teammates for open shots, completing the game with a sparkling assist-to-turnover ratio of 6-to-1. Additionally, Theis also hauled in a team-best 14 rebounds – at least five more than any other player on the Celtics. He also led the team and tied for the game high in steals with three, and pitched in eight points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Theis and the Celtics fell in overtime to the Clippers, 107-104, but that surely wasn’t due to his play. He was great during this game.

Dominant. That’s what Theis was Jan. 22 against Memphis, when his play helped the Celtics outscore the Grizzlies by 31 points during only 19 minutes of playing time. We’ll reiterate that: Boston outscored Memphis by 31 points during his 19 minutes of playing time! Theis shot 3-for-3 from long range and 4-for-7 from the field overall en route to 14 points, but the bulk of his work was done at the defensive end of the floor. He tallied three blocks to lead the Celtics outright, and two steals to tie for the top mark in the game. He also grabbed six rebounds during his 19 minutes of action. Again, Theis, with his plus-31 plus/minus rating, trailed only Smart (plus-35) in that category.

Theis has logged a game score better than 17 only twice this season, per basketball-reference.com. One of those performances came March 10 in Indiana – the most recent game the Boston Celtics have played this season. That night, Theis canned eight of his 12 shot attempts to fall just one made field goal shy of his career high total of nine. He scored 20 points in the game, marking just the fourth instance in his career that he has broken the 20-point barrier. Theis was one of three Celtics who scored at least 20 points during the game, joining Tatum (30 points) and Gordon Hayward (27 points). He also led the Celtics with two blocked shots and contributed three assists during the game, which Boston won 114-111.

It’s always fun to watch a player set a new career high in scoring. Same goes for setting a new career high in rebounding. But watching him do both on the same night? That’s just ridiculous, and that’s exactly what Theis did Feb. 21 in Minnesota. Theis tallied career bests of 25 points and 16 rebounds against the Timberwolves while helping the C’s to a 127-117 win. He was one of four starters who scored at least 25 points, marking the first time a team had four players reach that mark in a single game since 2006. Six of the 16 boards Theis grabbed were at the offensive end of the floor. He also blocked a shot, and he did all of this while playing less than 28 minutes. Have yourself a night, Daniel Theis!