Daniel Theis is about to start his second NBA season at Boston Celtics. In an interview, the Big Man talks about his team’s increased demands and their favourite status in the Eastern Conference.
Also: Why Celtics Coach Brad Stevens deserves every recognition and why Kyrie Irving’s statements are balm for Boston’s soul. The Celtics open in the night on Wednesday the new season in the home match against the Philadelphia 76ers (from 2 o’clock live on DAZN).
SPOX: Daniel, the team is complete and fit again, the season is just around the corner: What’s the mood like in Boston?
Daniel Theis: Let’s put it this way: We are very, very happy that the preseason is over. (laughs) Now, with three defeats in four games, things didn’t go well for us. Nevertheless the mood in the team is great, everyone is happy that now the whole team is together and everyone is fit – this is exactly the opposite of last year. Last year there were eleven new players in the team, this time almost the whole team has stayed the same and we can build on it. The fact that the preseason went so badly was perhaps also a little hello-wake moment for us, which we needed to see that it didn’t become a self-runner. The league is too strong to think that talent or depth in the squad is enough to win games. The work and intensity must not be neglected, not even in the preseason.
SPOX: Did the team take the preseason too easy or was it just a lack of coordination?
Theis: Both certainly played a role. We trained harder at camp than we did when we played, as strange as that sounds. The implementation at stake did not work. Why this was so, nobody knows at present with us. But of course it is a factor that Kyrie [Irving], Gordon [Hayward] and I are all back after a long injury break. Gordon hasn’t really played basketball in a year. It is also clear that the processes and roles will change a little for some people as a result. In the end, it just takes a little time for everything to work a little more harmoniously and for us to play more successfully.
SPOX: The last season was very successful despite the injuries, now LeBron James moved to the west over the summer – so Boston is considered the top favourite in the Eastern Conference. Is this also the claim within the team?
Theis: Yes, although we don’t want to concentrate on rankings, favourite roles or anything. The hype is of course big after the entry into the Conference Finals with so many outages and we realize that we are now the team that everyone wants to beat. I know that from Bamberg – if you had a lot of success, every team is particularly motivated against you and wants to play its best match. We have this target on our backs, at least at the Eastern Conference. In the preseason we really noticed to a certain extent that we can’t rest on our laurels on hype or the like – only because many people want to see us in the finals at the end of the season, not a single game becomes a success for us. Before the first preseason game, we had only been training for two days and I think those four games showed us that we definitely have work to do. The details, the energy, the intensity are important, whether you have a favourite status or not.
SPOX: Speaking of details. Brad Stevens became (even) more famous in the course of the last playoffs because his ATOs, i.e. plays after the timeout, worked so sensationally. He has some very unusual ideas. Do players shake their heads occasionally in the Huddle?
Theis: Not anymore, because we noticed how good he is in it. (laughs) Also at the end of the game whether the semi-field is open or at the throw-in. This creativity is enormous and he benefits from watching so many other games and always having unconventional ideas. The fact that this has now worked so well in the playoffs has, of course, earned him even more respect. He certainly deserved it.
Page 1: Theis about the weak preseason and Stevens’ creativity
Page 2: Theis about Kyrie Irving and her own contract