HOUSTON – Daniel Theis was a spectator for an NBA game this week...and he hated it.
A sore right hamstring injury kept the 6-foot-10 forward out of Boston’s 134-106 blowout win against Charlotte on Wednesday.
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But after a few additional days of treatment, Theis expects to be back in the lineup for the Celtics tonight when they take on the Houston Rockets.
“I feel good,” he said prior to the team’s shoot-around on Saturday morning.
The Celtics arrived in town Friday afternoon.
Not long after landing, Theis along with a handful of other Celtics players and members of the coaching staff made their way over to the basketball court at the Toyota Center to get some work in.
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“I was shooting regular; I felt fine,” Theis said. “There was no pain, no pinching or anything like that.”
Boston Celtics
Having Theis back will be huge for the Celtics as they try and combat a Houston team that’s much better now than the one that blew a 26-point lead in losing to the Celtics 99-98 on Dec. 28.
The Rockets did not have Chris Paul or Clint Capela available for that matchup.
Both are back for tonight, which will make the jobs for all of the Celtics – Theis included – a lot tougher.
Still, as we’ve seen all season, whether it’s everyone being healthy or someone needing to fill in for an injured teammate, the Celtics have consistently risen to the occasion to, at a minimum, compete at the highest level.
As Theis reflects on having a front row seat for his first NBA game as a spectator, the German forward, 25, wasn’t thrilled about not being able to participate.
But it did add on to what has been a great appreciation for all the talent that Boston has assembled and how they can lift one another up when needed.
“I’m happy we’re still winning,” Theis said. “We found a way to play both ends of the floor really well. It’s the right timing we come to Houston; they’ve won 14 in a row. So, I’m happy I’m back. I hope we win the game tonight and I help the team again.”
This season, Theis is averaging 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game while shooting 54 percent from the field – tops among all Celtics.