Theis sees parallels in youth movements
When Rockets center Daniel Theis began his NBA career with the Celtics, Jaylen Brown was beginning his second season, Jayson Tatum was a rookie.
The Celtics knew then the sort of potential they had acquired and has since been realized. But after 3½ seasons watching Tatum and Brown grow into stars, Theis was shipped to the Bulls before the he and Celtics could entirely cash in on all that growth.
Theis signed with the Rockets as a free agent, joining another team with young talent to develop. This time, he plans on sticking around.
“It’s definitely similar,” Theis said ahead of the Rockets’ game against the Celtics on Sunday at Toyota Center. “But in Boston, we had more of a veteran team around them. We had more expectations. But definitely, it’s a process for every young player coming into the league.
“Jalen ( Green, the Rockets rookie guard) is 19, a high draft. But yeah, I saw it with Jaylen and Jayson. You just have to put the work in every day and progress.
“You realize, all eyes are on you. You’re in the league. Just grow with every game.”
The Celtics in 2017-18 included veterans Al Horford, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris,
Greg Monroe and Kyrie Irving. They had young talent but were not rebuilding, going 55-27 in Theis’ rookie season. The Rockets, with five teenaged rookies on the roster, are more focused on developing young talent.
For Theis, the experience being with veterans and rookies with star potential has him determined to be the sort of leader he observed up close at the start of his career.
“That’s my goal,” Theis said. “I want to help them grow and get better on court, off court. I have a good relationship with Jalen. He listens a lot on the court, off the court he’s going to learn a lot. The same with Scoot ( Kevin Porter Jr.) You just have to help a lot, everybody that’s been in the league around them. Just help them to grow and get better.
“We are a young team. We have to go game-by-game. We can’t get too frustrated if we have a bad game. We can’t get too hyped and feel too good about ourselves when we have one good game. We have to look at ourselves every game.”
Theis started each of his first two games with the Rockets, averaging seven points and four rebounds while matching up with centers to allow Christian Wood to defend more on the perimeter. That is the role the Rockets had in mind when signing Theis to a four-year, $36 million contract that would keep him around while the young talent matures.
“It was about security for years, but also about helping a team grow and help our team to go in the playoffs in a certain year,” Theis said. “Hopefully, we’re all part of the team going forward and being successful.”
Defense gets more physical vs. Thunder
After the Rockets saw the Timberwolves’ physical, aggressive defense take apart their offense in a 124-106 loss on Wednesday, they not only wanted to handle that better when necessary, they wanted to do that to someone else.
They might not have been as physical as the Timberwolves, but they were every bit as disruptive against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Rockets had 23 deflections on Friday, winning 124-91. Only the Raptors, going against the Celtics, the Rockets opponent on Sunday, had more, and only the Raptors and Timberwolves have averaged more in the season’s first few games.
The Rockets blocked 10 Oklahoma City shots while getting 12 steals. Their average of 12.5 steals in the season’s first two games is third-most in the league, but it was clear that the defense was more aggressive and effective in the second game.
“Our energy was good,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “I thought we were active with our hands when the ball got into the paint. They made some drop-off passes we were able to convert into transition buckets for us. It was the defense that led to offense.”
That was the Rockets’ plan all along, especially after the Timberwolves’ defense dominated against them from the start.
“Just coming in with a better mentality,” Wood said of the difference. “It’s really just mental and effort. We got a lot of good effort plays as far as blocking shots, guys getting in the help side, J ( Jalen) Green being in the passing lanes, Jae’Sean Tate had one of his better defensive teams. It’s about effort.”