Theis better than Horford?

[Somebody]

Eh he's not providing us around 75% of Celtics Al Horford, there's so much more to player impact than box stats, especially when the players you're evaluating have most of their impact not captured by the box score.

[rollie mass]

Its like Theis wingspan is a state secret but it is huge which allows him to do what he does-.His vertical doesn't seem elite.
.I have been trying to find in print his wingspan since he got here.

[gouki88]

Eh he's not providing us around 75% of Celtics Al Horford, there's so much more to player impact than box stats, especially when the players you're evaluating have most of their impact not captured by the box score.

Yeah, and even some of them are covered by basic box numbers. The eye popping ones are assists, 3P% and fouls, although I will give credit to Theis - he's definitely a better rebounder and screener, and his defence is really strong now

[Somebody]

Eh he's not providing us around 75% of Celtics Al Horford, there's so much more to player impact than box stats, especially when the players you're evaluating have most of their impact not captured by the box score.

Yeah, and even some of them are covered by basic box numbers. The eye popping ones are assists, 3P% and fouls, although I will give credit to Theis - he's definitely a better rebounder and screener, and his defence is really strong now

Maybe for the current iteration of Horford, but not for Celtics Horford - Celtics Horford is considerably better than Theis in almost every way.

[gouki88]

Eh he's not providing us around 75% of Celtics Al Horford, there's so much more to player impact than box stats, especially when the players you're evaluating have most of their impact not captured by the box score.

Yeah, and even some of them are covered by basic box numbers. The eye popping ones are assists, 3P% and fouls, although I will give credit to Theis - he's definitely a better rebounder and screener, and his defence is really strong now

Maybe for the current iteration of Horford, but not for Celtics Horford - Celtics Horford is considerably better than Theis in almost every way.

I don't know about that. Theis is a much better offensive rebounder, and better rebounder in general, which is something that really hurt us during Al's tenure.

Everything else though, is in Al's favour

[Somebody]

Eh he's not providing us around 75% of Celtics Al Horford, there's so much more to player impact than box stats, especially when the players you're evaluating have most of their impact not captured by the box score.

Yeah, and even some of them are covered by basic box numbers. The eye popping ones are assists, 3P% and fouls, although I will give credit to Theis - he's definitely a better rebounder and screener, and his defence is really strong now

Maybe for the current iteration of Horford, but not for Celtics Horford - Celtics Horford is considerably better than Theis in almost every way.

I don't know about that. Theis is a much better offensive rebounder, and better rebounder in general, which is something that really hurt us during Al's tenure.

Everything else though, is in Al's favour

Their defensive rebounding is pretty close looking the rate stats, but yeah I'll give you offensive rebounding (man was Al inept at grabbing them).

[gouki88]

Eh he's not providing us around 75% of Celtics Al Horford, there's so much more to player impact than box stats, especially when the players you're evaluating have most of their impact not captured by the box score.

Yeah, and even some of them are covered by basic box numbers. The eye popping ones are assists, 3P% and fouls, although I will give credit to Theis - he's definitely a better rebounder and screener, and his defence is really strong now

Maybe for the current iteration of Horford, but not for Celtics Horford - Celtics Horford is considerably better than Theis in almost every way.

I don't know about that. Theis is a much better offensive rebounder, and better rebounder in general, which is something that really hurt us during Al's tenure.

Everything else though, is in Al's favour

Their defensive rebounding is pretty close looking the rate stats, but yeah I'll give you offensive rebounding (man was Al inept at grabbing them).

I feel like a few years of watching Al avoid offensive boards like the plague is the main reason DA brought in Kanter, lol

[Somebody]

Eh he's not providing us around 75% of Celtics Al Horford, there's so much more to player impact than box stats, especially when the players you're evaluating have most of their impact not captured by the box score.

Yeah, and even some of them are covered by basic box numbers. The eye popping ones are assists, 3P% and fouls, although I will give credit to Theis - he's definitely a better rebounder and screener, and his defence is really strong now

Maybe for the current iteration of Horford, but not for Celtics Horford - Celtics Horford is considerably better than Theis in almost every way.

I don't know about that. Theis is a much better offensive rebounder, and better rebounder in general, which is something that really hurt us during Al's tenure.

Everything else though, is in Al's favour

Their defensive rebounding is pretty close looking the rate stats, but yeah I'll give you offensive rebounding (man was Al inept at grabbing them).

I feel like a few years of watching Al avoid offensive boards like the plague is the main reason DA brought in Kanter, lol

For sure lol, it was difficult to watch him getting boxed out by guards and wings.

[nickagneta]

The premise of the article is that Theis is giving the Celtics as good, if not better, a year as Horford would have because this year, Theis is a better player and Horford has slipped.

It's not a comparison of what Theis gave this year as compared to what Horford gave in previous years. It's a comparison of how each are playing this year and how much each would brought to the table this year.

Now, that's tough to do because we know what Theis brought and can only speculate on Horford. It's not a given Horford would have been as bad this year in Boston as he was in Philly.

Horford could have continued to be the Horford he always was when he played here. But that's not for sure. Al's worse stats this year can be explained away by terrible fit, awful utilization and bad coaching. But maybe not.

Horford has definitely shown signs of aging. He's slower. He's less consistent. He's shooting poorly. His defense slipped a bunch. So it's possible the Horford we see in Philly could be the Horford we would have gotten in Boston if he stayed.

And that Horford really hasn't been that much better overall than Theis has been this year. And that version of Horford is making $23 million more a year than Theis.

[jambr380]

Sometimes it's just about system fit. Al obviously was exactly what the Cs needed in previous years, but Theis is perfect for what they need this year and moving forward. With Hayward back to full strength, we are not as reliant on his playmaking. With the Jays stepping up their games, we are not as reliant on his scoring. With Kemba on board and Smart another year older, we are not as reliant on his leadership.

As far as rebounding, setting screens, switching p&rs, and being able to hit a shot when needed, Theis is about as effective as we could ask for. He has great energy, seems like an upbeat guy, and is a hard worker. We are lucky to have him on the team.

[ETNCeltics]

Al's clearly not the player he used to be. He's 34 in a few months. Most players aren't like Lebron, able to play at a high level into their mid-30s.

No doubt Al was a much better fit here, and would be a better player than Theis is now. But where Al is now vs. where Theis is now, it's a no-brainer, Theis is better.

No tears shed for Al. I'm glad he's failing. I wish him a happy, healthy life. But on the court? Nothing but misery.

[Monkhouse]

I feel like Horford has been one of the most polarizing figures in the NBA.

While I think he's been severely underrated in his career, I also think he's been extremely overrated by us.

His play making is great, but he has to operate in the high post which allows the defense to set. His shooting isn't as good, maybe it's a system fit? I don't know. All I recall, last year he didn't look so great.

He's also not a rebounder nor do I see him winning All-Star anymore. He's also getting paid $97/4. I mean talk about his impact all you want, but let's be honest Ainge was never going to give Horford the contract that he wanted. And to be quite frank, I'm glad we moved on.

While I didn't anticipate the Jay's taking that leap forward, I don't think JT would've exploded the way he did in February, if Horford was still here. I think Al would've taken 5 to 6 shots away from him.

I still think people underestimate how useful Theis's seal screening was. It really opened the door for JT.

[Monkhouse]

Theis has a 7'4 wingspan.

 

Sauces?!?!?

That's incredible.

I'm not surprised though, Theis tends to somehow use his length and mobility really well. There's a reason why he's been such a winner during his time in the German league.

NBA Champion (2020-2021)
3× German League champion (2015–2017)
German Cup winner (2017)
German Supercup winner (2015)
German League Best Defender (2017)
4× German League All-Star (2014–2017)
German League Most Effective German Player (2016)
All-German League Second Team (2016)
German League Best Young Player (2014)

I see what you did there. You sir get a TP 

TP back at ya for the sense of humor! 😂

[GreenFaith1819]

He's got GREAT TIMING, as well...

For someone only 6'8" this is HUGE...

I've seen him block guys a lot taller than him over the years because of this..Greek Freak, Embiid...I've seen him block these guys shots before.

Seemed like last year was a bit of a down year for him (and just about the whole team), but he certainly reminds me of his 2017-18 play right now...and is seemingly building on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5fnpXYWzH0

[droopdog7]

Here is how I see it.  Horford is better than Theis, even at his age, but Horford also was a centerpiece of the offense.  The offense more or less went through him, and other had to adjust around him.  Problem is the others can get their own shot and are better with the ball in their hands.  Looking back at last year, way too many mouths to feed, way too many guys that needed the ball.

So in this particular case, Theis might be better because he doesn't need the ball at all and can still do the dirty work.