The Boston Celtics were vulnerable on the interior without centers Daniel Theis and Robert Williams — possibly their two best players at the position — when they faced the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, a game that the Celtics would win but surrender 133 points in.
64 of those points, nearly half of the total, came in the paint.
Fortunately for Boston, both Theis and Williams look as if they’ll be available for the Celtics when they face off against the (Splash Brother-less) Golden State Warriors on Friday. Boston has held opponents to just 44.2 points in the paint per game (ranked seventh in the NBA, per NBA Advanced Stats) largely behind the defense of Theis and Williams.
Though neither have been officially cleared, both spoke to reporters prior to Friday’s game to confirm their playing status.
Theis, who dislocated his pinky three times against the Dallas Mavericks, will be wearing a special splint (per MassLive’s John Karalis).
The duo are averaged a combined 3.7 blocks per game while Theis is holding opponents to 4.8 percent below their field goal percentage on shots fewer than six feet from the rim and Williams is holding opponents to 2.7 percent below their field goal percentage on shots fewer than six from the rim.
With only 39.6 percent of Golden State’s points coming in the paint, ranked 27th in the NBA, the Celtics were unlikely to have been dominated inside by the Warriors but without sharpshooters Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson available (and lockdown defender Marcus Smart sticking to D’Angelo Russell’s ribs like a home cooked meal), Golden State may be forced to find most of their offense from forward Eric Paschall.
Per Basketball Reference, 47.7 percent of Paschall’s 15.5 points per game have come in the paint this season.
