Daniel Theis opened up about his matchup with Stephen Curry ahead of Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors and said he feels comfortable defending against the superstar. He also talked about his toughest opponent, the mood in Boston and Draymond Green’s trash talk.
“I feel good there,” said Theis when asked by Len Werle (OpenCourt-Basketball), as it is in the switch against curry. “Obviously it’s different because we’ve had a lot of games before that against players who were more physical and shot more than Steph Curry. For us it’s about everyone taking their own pride and defending it and taking it personally,” said Theis.
In game 2, Theis played 14 minutes and was attacked by Curry in the high pick’n’roll once or twice, although he didn’t always look good. “We have to do our best and not get angry when he hits the threes that he almost fires from the halfway line. He’ll take those shots and if he hits them, he hits them,” explained the German.
When asked if Curry, who has averaged 31.5 points and 4.5 assists in the previous series with shot rates of 45.7 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from downtown, was his toughest opponent to date, remained the Big Man vaguely: “They’re completely different types of players. He’s trying to create space for his throw. Giannis wants to go through you physically and I think the playoffs are a huge challenge for everyone.”
Theis before game 3: “It will be incredible”
At the same time, he is full of anticipation ahead of the first Finals game at TD Garden in Boston in twelve years. “It’s going to be amazing. I think the atmosphere will be like none of us have experienced before. It’s going to be something that everyone who’s here will remember,” he said.
“Boston is a sports city that’s used to winning and has won titles over the years with the Patriots, Bruins and Red Sox and I think it’s time we got our turn. We want the fans to have so many years reflect something after the last championship,” he explained.
From his point of view, it is also important that the Celtics do not get involved in Draymond Green’s games. “I think he’ll get his energy from the hatred of the fans, but we can’t do that. In Game 2, that was his goal, to relate to everything and everyone, but we have to stay out of that,” he said.
Theis is in his fifth season with the Celtics after they signed him in 2017. After brief stints with the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets, he has been back in Boston since February.
In this year’s playoffs he is on the court for an average of 12.5 minutes and during this time he has 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds.
NBA Finals – Warriors vs. Celtics: The Series at a Glance (1-1)
| Spiel | Datum | time | Heim | away | result |
| 1 | June 3 | 3 o’clock | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics | 108:120 |
| 2 | June the 6th | 2 O ‘clock | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics | 107:88 |
| 3 | 9. June | 3 o’clock | Boston Celtics | Golden State Warriors | – |
| 4 | June 11 | 3 o’clock | Boston Celtics | Golden State Warriors | – |
| 5 | 14th of June | 3 o’clock | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics | – |
| 6* | June 17 | 3 o’clock | Boston Celtics | Golden State Warriors | – |
| 7* | 20. June | 2 O ‘clock | Golden State Warriors | Boston Celtics | – |
*if necessary