Celtics big man Daniel Theis went down with a knee injury late in Saturday’s tilt with the Indiana Pacers, and it was later revealed that he would be out for the remainder of the season with a meniscus tear.
The 25-year-old rookie played a role larger than many thought he would before the season began, and his absence will certainly be missed in the second unit. Although Theis wasn’t exactly a scoring machine, he was effective and seldom made mistakes. His versatility on the defensive end is what made him so vital to the success Boston has seen thus far.
This injury is just one of the latest to strike as the injury bug is not taking it easy on the Celtics this year, dating all the way back to opening night.
Shortly after news broke that Theis was done, Marcus Smart was reported to have a torn ligament in his thumb. This news is not official, however, and Smart is currently visiting a doctor to figure out the severity.
#Celtics injury update
Gordon Hayward (ankle): Out for year
Daniel Theis (knee): Out for year
Kyrie Irving (knee): Out indefinitely
Jaylen Brown (concussion): Out indefinitely
Marcus Smart (thumb): Could be out indefinitely
Shane Larkin (knee): Minutes limitHorford's sick too.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) March 12, 2018
With Al Horford fighting a bug, Greg Monroe will have a golden opportunity to prove his worth to this team.
Back in early February, Monroe signed a one-year, $5 million dollar contract with the Celtics. Since then, he has struggled to receive significant minutes, but normally he performs highly when granted the opportunity.
You should fully expect the big man to see a much larger role here on out, and hopefully, that will also mean him becoming the walking double-double that we saw with the Detroit Pistons.
Monroe’s presence could be more important to winning games than we think. The bench has done a complete 180 recently compared to their offensive woes before the All-Star break. With the array of injuries to both the starting unit and reserves, however, Boston is desperate for players that were previously overshadowed to step up and shine.
Even though the 27-year-old is commonly not much more than a paint presence who can also grab boards, his scoring and rebounding ability could be the saving grace for the Celtics. With players like Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, possibly Al Horford, and more sidelined, offense won’t come easy for any unit.
Either way, the next couple of weeks will be revealing on who can truly be the next man up, and who crumbles under the pressure.
