Boston Celtics center Daniel Theis will likely miss the rest of the season to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the team announced today. The news was first reported by Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
#NEBHInjuryReport: Daniel Theis has suffered a torn meniscus and is likely out for the remainder of the season.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 12, 2018
Theis suffered the injury during the Celtics’ loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.
The 25-year-old NBA rookie from Germany had become an integral part of the Celtics’ bench unit with averages of 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and one block in 18.4 minutes per game since the All-Star break.
The loss of Theis weakens the Celtics’ depth, which was already thin after injuries sidelined Jaylen Brown (concussion) and Kyrie Irving (knee soreness) over the weekend. According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, Celtics guard Marcus Smart jammed his right thumb in last night’s defeat. After the game, Smart was wearing a protective cast on the hand, Murphy reports:
“Sore, but it will be all right. It’s like a sprain right now,” said the Celtics guard, who picked up the scoring slack with a team-high 20 points. “I didn’t even know Kyrie was out until we were getting ready to start in the third quarter. That’s definitely hard. We’re down Al and Jaylen, and now we lose another key component. We’re just trying to figure out ways to keep ourselves in it.”
The Celtics (46-21) are 3 1/2 games behind the Toronto Raptors for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Aron Baynes, Al Horford and Greg Monroe likely will receive the majority of the center minutes with Theis sidelined.
Additionally, Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters Monday that rookie forward Semi Ojeleye may also guard some centers. Rookie big man Guerschon Yabusele, who has spent most of the season with the Maine Red Claws (the Celtics’ G League affiliate), will also be returning to Boston today and will “fill a role”, Stevens said.
