Daniel Theis‘ season-ending knee injury will force the Celtics to make adjustments in their frontcourt, as Taylor Snow of Celtics.com details. While the C’s figure out how to replace Theis’ minutes, Brad Stevens says he expects the rookie to make a full recovery and eventually return “better than ever.”
“You really feel for him,” the Celtics’ head coach said of Theis. “He was a guy that came in knowing he could play, but maybe not even expecting to have the type of season he had. And he didn’t change that when we brought Greg (Monroe) in and mixed up minutes here and there. He just kept being who he is, and we’re going to miss him on the court.”
Speaking of Monroe, he’ll get a chance to take on a larger role and make good on his one-year deal with the Celtics now that Theis is out, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. “One of the reasons why we wanted to sign Greg was because you never know what can happen with your depth inside,” Stevens said.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- They have a long way to go to get to where the Sixers are, but the Nets‘ rebuild has some noticeable similarities to Philadelphia’s “process,” opines Greg Joyce of The New York Post. The 76ers were able to find under-the-radar gems like Robert Covington and T.J. McConnell during their rebuild, and Brooklyn has done the same, identifying guys like Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris as undervalued players.
- In a mailbag for The Athletic (subscription required), Derek Bodner examines why Amir Johnson is getting minutes over Richaun Holmes, and discusses possible uses for the Sixers‘ offseason cap room if they can’t land a star like LeBron James or Paul George.
- A failed trade from December 2013 would have changed the course of recent history in the Atlantic division, but the potential Raptors/Knicks swap involving Kyle Lowry ultimately fell through. Fred Kerber of The New York Post explores that “what if?” scenario.
The Nets found two under the radar guys like the 76ers in their rebuild but they’re missing what the 76ers have: 2 guys who own the damn radar
They’re also missing draft picks
Those Nets guys are Playing in Boston after dumping three first rounders for KG and Pierce. Not much similarity…
A “what if” about a December 2013 trade proposal? Virtually impossible to know. If the Knicks made that trade for Lowry, the pick they would have to give up would be this coming year’s 2018 pick (first they could trade). Playoffs that season and the next? Maybe, but only sneaking in. Almost certainly not in a position to draft Porzingis. Would Lowry re-up with such a team particularly as Melo declined? If he did, are the Knicks (with Lowry and not Porzingis) still in the lottery? If so, it’s without a first rounder. Also, without cap space (Lowry’s 30mm escalating number assures that).