Boston Celtics veteran center Daniel Theis won’t be suiting up in his team’s preseason debut against the Philadelphia 76ers, but it won’t be over concerns regarding the cause of the viral pandemic currently impinging on the NBA’s operations for a second consecutive season.
Those concerns, revolving around the viral cause of COVID-19, have transformed how the league (and the world) do business, with even the most quotidian aspects of the Celtics practice regimen impacted by critical preventative measures. After a successful completion to the 2019-20 season in the so-called Disney bubble, teams have returned to their home markets and arenas, responsible for their own precautionary practices.
Walker, Thompson, Langford OUT vs 76ers; Theis questionable https://t.co/GFppuVkJkf
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 15, 2020
“It’s definitely very complicated as well but I trust our team, our organization staff — whoever’s here — to follow all the rules and protocol we have, so that’s all we can do,” explained the German big man.
“They take good care of us … State by state, the laws are different. In Pennsylvania, there’s no indoor dining, so we stayed in the hotel. So, like I said, it just goes back to that everybody just has to follow the protocol and rules because it’s not just affecting one one guy or one person. It’s going to be like, [if] one person is reckless, it’s going to be like a domino effect that’s going to affect the team, anybody who has families at home and probably the whole NBA.”
Asked how often the team was being tested for COVID-19, and the Salzgitter native replied, “Every day, we can’t do anything without testing.”
NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin to return to cover Celtics in ’20-’21 https://t.co/vmYa4RuRHA
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 14, 2020
As to why Theis is not going to play, “there’s no reason to risk anything” by rushing back from a sore lower back in a game that ultimately counts for little with so little time after the game for the Celtic center to get healthy.
And with the team needing to see what they have in their younger frontcourt members like Robert Williams III, Grant Williams and perhaps even two way big man Tacko Fall, particularly with new center Tristan Thompson likely out for the start of the season as well.
