Theis plays through broken nose with fitted mask
Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown have both spent multiple games this year wearing forms of facial protection on the court, and the Celtics added another player to their list of masked men on Saturday night. This time, it was rookie forward/center Daniel Theis who was sporting a face mask to protect his nose, which was broken after getting hit by an errant elbow from Ekpe Udoh during Boston's 95-107 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday. Here's a look at the shot Theis endured that caused the break:
Daniel Theis took a shot to the nose during the first quarter and will not return to tonight's game. Here are a few angles from the play: pic.twitter.com/Nkd2EAF4Ll— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) December 16, 2017
Although Theis' night ended there, he was somehow able to get a mask fitted and get comfortable enough to return to the court in the span of a day. He saw 14 minutes of action in the Celtics' 102-93 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and managed to score 5 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, hit a three, and viciously denied the Grizzlies' Kobi Simmons. Initially, Boston didn't even expect him to make the trip.
Masked Theis with the rejection! 🚫🚫🚫 pic.twitter.com/Wkr6VkbTUt— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 17, 2017
Theis spoke with Amanda Pflugrad on the events that occurred when he broke his nose and how he feels about wearing the mask.
Putnam Player Interview: Daniel Theis pic.twitter.com/nE0JeqXGv3— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 17, 2017
As of now, it is unclear how long Theis is expected to wear the mask.
The Celtics will now head to Indiana for a tough Monday-night matchup with the Pacers.
Photo credit: Matthew J. Lee, Boston Glove
Follow Brendan at @brendansanders0