Celtics Notebook: Enes Kanter ruled out vs. Bucks, Daniel Theis questionable

The Celtics will be without one of their most experienced pieces in the frontcourt on Wednesday against a Bucks team with plenty of size in the middle. Enes Kanter started some activity in his recovery from a sore knee, but the Celtics training staff has already ruled out him for the ESPN matchup at the Garden. Daniel Theis missed Saturday's matchup with a sprained ankle and remained questionable for the contest.

"Enes was on the Alter-G today. Ran with a little bit of, you know, 70 percent of his body weight, I think, or whatever. So he's out tomorrow. And then Theis was able to do most of practice, and we'll learn more afterwards," Brad Stevens said.

Playing the Bucks without Kanter and potentially Theis should prove to be a handful for a Celtics frontcourt short on big bodies. Milwaukee added Robin Lopez to Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason, giving them plenty of length in the frontcourt for nearly all 48 minutes. The challenge will now fall on Rob Williams, Grant Williams and potentially Vincent Poirier to combat the size down low while the C's have to contain several shooters on the perimeter, including new additions like Kyle Korver and Wesley Matthews.

"I mean, they’ve got good players that they brought in," Stevens said. "They've got really good players that they brought in. They're still trying to play very fast. They're still playing with shooters around Giannis. They’re still playing five out for the most part until they go to some of their late game go-to plays. But I see a lot more similarities than differences, and they're really good. They're really good. The Miami game, they had an 18- or 20-point lead, and Miami kind of stuck with it and found a way to win that. But for the most part when I've watched Milwaukee, they look the exact same as last year."

"Just next man up," Rob Williams said of his mentality. "Got to do my job. We have to really come together with him being our main centerpiece. Like I said, use speed to our advantage a lot with these guys, try to get them up and down the court a little bit."

With so much size out, it's highly likely some of the C's wings will see time defending Antetokounmpo as well. Jaylen Brown has spent much of this season guarding bigger players, but he will have to try to prioritize staying on the floor one game after being saddled with foul trouble against the Sixers last week.

"I guess see how they game is played, see how the game is being officiated and adjust," Brown said of his mindset. "I think being able to adjust midgame and stuff is what this league is about and stuff, so for me, I want to be aggressive, but I also don't want to pick up easy early fouls, so I'm going to adjust throughout the game as it is being played."

The Celtics will get some additional healthy help on the wing as Romeo Langford has been officially cleared to play after missing the first three games with a knee injury. For now, it doesn't sound like Brad Stevens plans on playing him though unless the team is in a pinch.

"He's got to just get back into practice again and all that stuff," Stevens said of Langford. "He did a really good job in practice today, and certainly wouldn’t have a second thought to put him in. He's done a good job of that, but he hasn't has as many reps, practice or game-wise, as these other guys."

Other Notes 

Brad Stevens on the C's leading the league in turnovers forced: "Listen, we’re not gonna be a very good defense if we don’t play with a little bit of ball pressure. We’re just not. We’re not big enough in the interior. We’re not big enough at guarding post players at the 4 and 5 if we just let passes go where they want. If we let teams operate in a comfort zone we’re not going to win very often unless we really make shots on a given night. Our strength lies in our perimeter’s ability to move our feet and pressure and be versatile and our bigs can read when those guys get beat and have to react to that threat. We have to get better at all those things. I don’t think we’re as good as we can be but that’s what we have to be if we’re gonna be any good defensively."

Team bonding at the Terminator: Marcus Smart rented out a Chestnut Hill theater on Sunday and over 10 C's joined him for a preview of the new Terminator movie. "It's great," Stevens said of the outing. "We have a lot of guys that do that kind of thing and have done stuff like that throughout the years, and even earlier this year, so it's always good. Especially on an off day. That always is a positive thing, especially when you can spend time away from basketball."

Don't look to Rob Williams for a review though, as the big man was born 13 years after the first Terminator was released.

"I haven't seen any of the first one so I was kind of lost trying to piece it together," he said.