In Monday’s episode of the CelticsPod podcast, we discussed the potential battle between Daniel Theis and Robert Williams for playing time this season and the potential of a future roster spot next year. Theis is unarguably the better player, while Williams has the higher ceiling.

Unfortunately, Williams has had difficulty staying healthy throughout his first three years in the NBA, and only has 61 regular season games to his name thus far.

If Williams reaches his potential is he better player than Theis? And more importantly, how likely is Williams to reach that potential?

Beyond this big man debate, we dive into what we’ve seen from rookies Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard that has surprised us. Brenden noted that Nesmith’s ability to score off the dribble is not something he expected to see from Nesmith this early, while we also debated his upside as a defender due to his limited lateral quickness.

Despite Pritchard still being somewhat of an unknown, there is already signs of upside from him as a half court creator and open floor facilitator. However, his lack of athleticism has left us a little concerned with his ability to create without using the pick-and-roll.

With the season set to start this week, and the Celtics gearing up for their opening game, we’re optimistic for the season ahead.

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