Scouting report: Daniel Theis vs. Spain (Gasol brothers) in EuroBasket quarterfinals

An impressive run for Celtics offseason addition Daniel Theis in EuroBasket 2017 came to a close on Tuesday after Germany fell to a loaded Spain squad in the quarterfinals of the tournament by a 85-72 margin.

While we already have been keeping tabs on the progress of the 25-year-old throughout his international play over the past two weeks, Tuesday’s matchup seemed like a good opportunity to take a closer look at the all-around play of the German power forward. Spain’s frontcourt is absolutely loaded with elite NBA talent (Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol, Willy Hernangomez, Juancho Hernangomez) so there is no question this contest was a better measuring stick for the 6-foot-9 athletic big man than most opponents in this tournament. Let’s take a look at a few observations and takeaways from his 30 minutes of action.

Numbers vs. Spain:

15 points (6/11 FG, 3/6 FT, 0/1 3pt) 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 fouls, -2 plus/minus in 30 minutes of 84-72 defeat.

Offense

• Was Germany’s go-to big in the pick-and-roll all game long. He set strong screens on and off the ball, using his body at various angles to try to catch Spain’s defenders by surprise when setting screens. 


• Had good chemistry with point guard Dennis Schroder in the pick-and-roll. Took advantage of Spain’s eagerness a couple times by slipping the screen and diving to the rim for an alley-oop.


• Mid-range game (2-of-5) was average at best, primarily coming out of the pick-and-pop with Schroder. He’s got a decent looking jumper when he’s in rhythm but missed a couple times off a head fake or after a dribble. C’s probably won’t want him taking a lot of these kinds of shots, but he’s not afraid to fire away, if open.


• Only one 3-point attempt vs. Spain, which was kind of surprising considering he had true bigs on him for much of the game. His 50 percent mark for the tournament (5-of-10) from deep was a plus overall.


• Saw a couple post-ups and drew questionable foul calls that got him to the free throw line a couple times. The power forward is not afraid of contact (finished day with six free-throw attempts) and that’s a welcome sign for a Celtics frontcourt that struggled to get to the line with any regularity at both the 4 and 5. He shot 70-80 percent from the stripe on average during his time in Europe.


• Didn’t show up in the box score much, but Theis really is committed to hitting the offensive glass hard. He’ll battle among three bodies in the paint for the ball and that should serve him well in an energy role at the NBA level.


• Seemed adequate with his ballhandling. Lots of handoffs with the German guards, but also drove the ball decently when he had an open lane.


• Can really punish slower bigs in transition. Got easy baskets in semi-transition on multiple occasions by simply out-hustling Pau Gasol up the floor.    

• Had a heavy onus put on him in the pick and roll all game long while defending the roll man. Theis would drop back and try to cut off dribble penetration by the likes or Ricky Rubio or Sergio Rodriguez before recovering back to his man (usually Pau or Marc Gasol). That’s a tough assignment for any defender, so the Gasols took advantage of Theis being slow to get back into position by attacking him on the drive, which produced free throws. The Germans were very undersized up front, leaving Theis in a position where he had to try to cover a ton of ground defensively all game long.


• Despite being undersized, Theis put up a strong fight in post matchups against the seven-foot Gasols. He doesn’t have the strength to get bigger guys out of position, but he won’t back down from them either. The key for him in the NBA will be trying to make sure those guys don’t get too deep in the paint on post-ups.


• Germany’s defense fell apart without Theis at the end of the third quarter. The power forward went to the bench with Germany holding a 48-45 lead with roughly four minutes remaining in the frame. Spain closed the quarter with a 20-4 run, largely on the back of Marc Gasol who scored 14 points over that span. Theis guarded Gasol when he re-entered the game in the fourth quarter and kept him contained for the final 10 minutes, but the double-digit deficit was too much to overcome for Germany.


• One area where Theis may frustrate Celtics fans is on the defensive glass. He’s not great at boxing out and can turn into a ball watcher at times as well when a shot goes up. He obviously had a tough assignment boxing out the likes of the Gasols and Hernangomez, but don’t look for him to be a big plus in this area right away if he works his way into the rotation.


• Can see fouling becoming an issue for Theis as well based on this Spain matchup. The refs were letting a lot go as he battled the Gasols in the trenches but he tends to be very aggressive going for blocks and using his body. He’s going to have to be smarter with his play to avoid getting caught with a lot of cheap rookie whistles at the NBA level.