The Celtics’ trade deadline moves are requiring Brad Stevens to make some changes to his rotation.
The biggest change the Celtics coach will have to make is replacing Daniel Theis in the starting lineup. Boston shipped Theis, who’s started at either power forward or center for much of the season, to Chicago on Thursday. Stevens told Celtics radio play-by-play announcer Sean Grande that he was caught “completely off guard” by the Theis trade, which was reported minutes after the deadline, expressing that he’ll miss Theis’ defense and more.
“I think obviously losing Daniel was really tough,” Stevens told reporters prior to Friday’s game against the Bucks. “I think Daniel’s been one of our best defenders the last couple of years on a team that has really struggled to defend.
“We’re going to have to have other people step up. It’s time for everybody to be their best on that end, and I think that that is the number one thing for this team; when you lose a communicator like that, a guy that can direct your defense from the backline, and a guy that is going to play hard on each and every possession, that’s going to be something that we’re going to have to make up for. So that is not insignificant.”
Nonetheless, the Celtics will have to move on and now third-year player Robert Williams will start at center, making just his fourth career start in Friday’s game against the Bucks. Williams has made a noticeable improvement in recent weeks, seeing a steady increase in his playing time. For the month of March, Williams is averaging 10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game coming off the bench.
Stevens said he’s been encouraged by Williams’ play as of late, saying he’s “a critical part of our team now and a critical part of our team for the future.”
“I think it puts a lot on him,” Stevens said. “I think that he’s made a lot of strides, he does a lot of good things, and he can fill up a stat sheet. I think that there’s things that he will just continue to improve upon and his best days are still far ahead, as much as the glimpses that he shows. But those glimpses have become a lot more consistent, and his effort has been terrific. He’s a competitive guy. So he’ll get, obviously, a lot of opportunity here. He’s always been more comfortable coming off the bench, so he will have to adjust that here.”
While Williams is the team’s starting center at the moment, Stevens didn’t commit to him being the starter for the rest of the season. Tristan Thompson, who’s started at center in 31 of the 35 games he’s played in this season, is currently out due to COVID protocol. The Celtics are also reportedly interested in veteran center Andre Drummond, who was bought out by the Cavaliers on Friday.
With Thursday’s subtractions came some additions. In return for Theis, the Celtics received big men Moe Wagner and Luke Kornet. Their biggest addition though was guard Evan Fournier, who came from the Magic. Unlike Wagner and Kornet, Fournier wasn’t available to play in Friday’s game because he was taking a physical in Boston earlier in the day.
Fournier’s expected to play a much bigger role in the Celtics’ rotation than Wagner and Kornet, and Stevens is hoping Fournier can get acclimated quickly.
“He’s just going to get thrown in there and we’re going to ask him to try to learn on the fly,” Stevens said. “He’s (28), he’s played in the league a long time. He’ll be able to watch our playbook. Just like Moe and Luke. They’ll be able to pick up a lot pretty quickly. We’ll try to keep a basic set of actions that we go to when those guys are in, and we build up as time goes on.”
Fournier could make his Celtics debut on Saturday when they face the Thunder.
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Brad Stevens called losing Daniel Theis ‘really tough,’ asks Celtics to improve on defense - Boston.com
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