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Shams Charania reported Monday that Celtics big man Daniel Theis suffered a torn left meniscus and will undergo season-ending knee surgery.
Sources: Celtics center Daniel Theis has suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and will undergo season-ending surgery. Theis emerged as an important reserve for Boston this season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 12, 2018
Brad Stevens described the injury as a simple knee-to-knee hit after Sunday’s game, but Theis’ MRI showed something more serious.
This is a big blow to Boston’s second unit. Theis had become a consistent contributor off the bench on both ends, averaging over five point and four rebounds in about 15 minutes per game.
Theis’ injury comes at a time where multiple Celtics are experiencing different ailments. Kyrie Irving missed the second half of Boston’s loss to Indiana due to knee soreness, and Marcus Smart suffered a sprained right thumb during the third quarter. This is on top of Jaylen Brown expecting to miss a week and Al Horford missing Sunday’s game with an illness.
The Celtics have 15 game remaining before the postseason. Sitting 3.5 games out of the one seed, but up 7.5 games on the three seed, the Celtics might decide to focus on health the rest of the way.