Daniel Theis is at the Boston Celtics in the middle of his first NBA season. In his SPOX column, the German national player talks about his everyday life in the best league in the world.
Hi folks and welcome to the second part of my monster blog!
In the last few weeks a lot has happened to me and I want to bring you up to date again. We’re also going into the first round #AskTheis and you can check at the end of the blog to see if your question to me is there. It is best to send it to her with the hash tag #AskTheis on Twitter or Facebook. And now have fun reading!
One highlight was of course the NBA London Game against the 76ers. Everything was very well organized and planned. It was a really cool experience and of course I’m happy that we won the game and flew back to Boston with a win. We would have liked to have explored even more of the city and its sights, but unfortunately we couldn’t do that any more, because the schedule was packed with training and PR appointments. The media attention was enormous and the game attracted a lot of stars, especially soccer players like Julian Draxler, Kevin De Bruyne or Sir Alex Ferguson in the hall. I’m really happy and grateful that I had the chance to witness such a thing.
Since Christmas it has been going quite well for us in terms of sport. We scored seven victories in a row, but then we lost three home defeats in a row. We didn’t defend well against the New Orleans pelicans and against Philadelphia we played so little in the offense that we played the worst half of the season. With so many games, it can happen that you lose a few games in a row. That makes it all the more important to check out the game after the defeats, improve and win the next game. We will definitely stay focused and try to take home as many victories as possible on the long away trip.
Every match and every matchup in the NBA is something special for me. There are so many stars and good players in the big positions. Especially Karl-Anthony Towns of the Timberwolves was extraordinarily good. Anthony Davis from the Pelicans is also just as good and versatile individually. It’s always a challenge to play against such players, but it’s just mega fun! I was also particularly pleased to play Darius Miller in the NBA. It was cool to see him again after almost half a year and to exchange with him.
I am often asked about what it is like for me to play under Brad Stevens and what has changed since my last station in Bamberg. Andrea Trinchieri and Brad Stevens are both perfectionists in basketball. Both live and love this sport and only have 24/7 basketball in their minds. Both have a very similar idea of the game, especially in terms of ball movement. Defensively they are both very open to new tactics and also exchanged matchups like Al Horford for Ben Simmons. Andrea often did this to make it difficult for the offensive. So for me, there hasn’t really been much change. My role is quite clear: playing Defense, bringing energy, rebounden,”run the court”, Pick and Roll, Catch and Shoot. I think you can say that I’ve done quite well in the NBA so far and my goal is of course to keep getting better every day at all corners and ends!
Another highlight in recent weeks was the invitation of the New England Patriots. I wanted to experience a football game live for a long time and I was really happy that it finally worked out. It was freezing cold, but it was worth it. I’m already looking forward to the Super Bowl and keep my fingers crossed for the Pats.
Away from the court, our new home is also a real challenge for us in terms of weather technology. We recently had a snowstorm that was announced the day before. You get emergency alerts on the phone and all highways warn you about a storm. It was snowing all day long and we probably had 40cm of new snow. Unbelievable! There have also been floods in Boston, but fortunately we have not heard of them. From Germany I know only heat-free! All schools and supermarkets were closed due to the snow. Even our training had to be cancelled. We have fought with temperatures down to -20 degrees Celsius. Haha, I’m already looking forward to spring again.
It was also cool that we got a visit from our friend Marcel Schäfer and his family. He is currently playing football at the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Florida and has come all the way to Boston to support me live in a game at TD Garden. Let’s see when we can visit him and his family in Florida. He definitely has the better weather from both of us….
And now to you and thanks for your interest! I picked up some of the #AskTheis questions and answered them. See for yourself if you’re in:
Oliver S. on Twitter: Tell me how you manage the trash talk in the NBA? Does this have a strong influence in the game?
Every now and then there is trash talk in the game, but I’m not really involved so it doesn’t affect my game. Let’s see what the future holds.
James Gatter on Twitter: What made you want to leave the German league and come to play in the NBA?
It was the right time, the right team, the right city and the right coach. And of course it was always my dream to make it to the NBA. So it was pretty pretty simple!
Kevin H on Twitter: Which food is your favorite in Boston and which restaurant do you like best?
At the moment we like to go to STRIP by Strega, a steakhouse, and Davio’s with a mixture of Italian cuisine and steakhouse.
Philipp_auer on Instagram: What does an individual nutrition plan look like?
Of course, you should always eat healthy and balanced with lots of fresh ingredients. Fortunately, we have an excellent team chef who looks after it for us and implements the nutrition plan.
So, that’s it then also with the Monsterblog part 2 and I hope I could give you some interesting insights again! We are now on the road for the first time on the long road trip and then soon the All-Star Break and the hot phase of the season will follow! I will keep you up to date on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and if you have any special questions for the upcoming Monsterblog, then #AskTheis!
Look back and kick in!
Yours Daniel