How Theis' active debut could foreshadow impact on Bulls

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It didn’t take long into Daniel Theis’ Bulls debut to see why he was a fan favorite in his three-and-a-half seasons with the Boston Celtics.

The first flash came in the first quarter, roughly 60 game seconds after Theis first checked into Monday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors. Initially guarding Draymond Green at the top of the key, Theis flew from the 3-point arc to the painted area in a span of split seconds to plaster a Kevon Looney putback attempt against the backboard:

“My mindset is just to be a defensive anchor,” Theis said. “My teammate gets beat, I just try to be there.”

Hyper-activity is the heart of Theis’ game. In the rest of his nine-minute opening stint, he buried a running floater in transition, notched another block and steal, and slammed home a resounding alley-oop to enter the halftime break with 6 points, 2 blocks and a steal.

So compelling was that spurt, which also featured solid screen-setting, that Billy Donovan deployed Theis as the first big off the bench  ahead of Lauri Markkanen  in the second half as the Bulls coach searched for fruitful frontcourt pairings between those two, Nikola Vučević and Thad Young. Theis played 17 minutes alongside Markkanen and six minutes with Vučević against the Warriors.

I think Coach (Donovan) going to try out some things,” Theis said. “Let's say me and Vooch are out there. I gotta be the roller so he can space the floor. I'm out there with Lauri, I'm the roller so he can shoot as well. I think it's all about figuring out and it's gonna take some time to adjust for the team as well.”

Donovan said postgame that he is intrigued by the complement Theis’ physical, interior presence on both ends provides alongside Vučević or Markkanen, and added after Tuesday’s practice that he envisions Theis being able to switch out on the perimeter defensively once the new-look Bulls are comfortable enough in their base sets to expand the playbook.

“The one thing I’ve got to help him get to, and even just preparing for Boston over the years, the one thing I always felt pretty good about with him is he’s got really good feet on the perimeter and he can switch a lot,” Donovan said. “There is an air to him and there’s a feel to him when he’s on the court. Like you feel him. You feel him in the game. That part is encouraging.”

In the latter department, Theis found the Bulls to be lacking upon first impressions. Look no further than Steph Curry’s reel as evidence. He scored 32 points in 30 minutes and shot 6-for-14 from 3-point range in his return from a tailbone contusion that kept him out five games, often operating with oceans of space. The Bulls are the NBA’s 27th-ranked team defending pick-and-roll ball handlers for a reason.

One thing for us as a team, we gotta be more physical, we gotta be more into the ball,” Theis said. “Like you saw yesterday, if you let Steph get comfortable and don't be into him the whole game, he's gonna give you 30-plus points easy. So obviously it's (playing hard defense) a mindset. If you want to be into people's body and be physical and just kind of annoying too. If you're into them from the first second, you know it's not gonna be an easy game for them.”

Theis hopes he can lead by example, and direction, in that department.

“Me, Thad (Young), Vooch, we're experienced enough, like we can guide those guys and just tell them we gotta be more physical,” Theis said. “As a [center] you see the whole court basically the whole time. You're back there, you can talk to everybody, tell them where to go. That was my mindset with the Celtics too, just be a defensive anchor, be vocal and just talk to everybody.”

Don’t sleep on the subtleties of his offensive game, either. Though his alley-oop finish was a bit of a surprise to Zach LaVine “I didn’t know he could get up and get it like that,” LaVine said  Theis believes his screen-setting can free avenues all over the court for the Bulls’ All-Star guard.

“He's a great guy. Since the trade he was the first one reaching out to me a short period of time right after it happened,” Theis said of LaVine. “I've been talking to him a lot, because I think I can get his game going way easier. Sometimes, he gets so much attention when he gives up the ball, people want to deny him so he can't touch the ball again. Especially when he comes out in transition, setting high ball-screens for him so he can use the court, like the open court in transition to use his speed, to use his ability to finish above the rim, or just shoot a 3. 

“I think I can help him there a lot too so he can get easier shots than -- not forcing, but taking contested ones. He's been making those, he has incredible shotmaking ability, but I think I can make his game even easier for him just to get him like way open for 3s.”

To hear LaVine tell it, the relationship is off to a fast start.

“I like everything about him, man. Very vocal, very physical, unselfish. He talks a lot out there. He talked a lot about getting me open. I got to figure out his game,” LaVine said of Theis. “And he brings a physicality and some effort into the game.”

Theis’ passing, too, could very well have utility, especially given Donovan’s penchant for putting his bigs in position to facilitate — from Thad Young to Wendell Carter Jr. to Vučević — and the Bulls’ instability at the point guard position. Theis slung three assists in his debut, and averaged 1.6 dimes in 43 appearances with the Celtics before the trade — just 0.1 off his career-high average of 1.7, set last season.

I feel pretty comfortable up there,” Theis said. “I think me and Vooch especially and Thad as passers, it's easy to use the big sometimes as a passer instead of just running pick-and-rolls. Play off the guards, just play split game, screen for each other and cut to the basket. It's sometimes harder to stop that than any pick-and-roll.”

For all the good from his debut, though, Theis said the loss soured it. All part of the acclimation process, which he says should only move forward from here.

“The good thing about the NBA what I learned is, you can use it in a game,” Theis said. “You can't get mad about yesterday. We didn't play a good game, but tomorrow's the next game so we can look forward to it and improve.”

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