NBA: 5 positional battles to watch as training camps begin

Boston Celtics: Daniel Theis vs. Tristan Thompson

This one might be over before it starts as Tristan Thompson, who just signed the non-taxpayer mid-level exception with the Boston Celtics, will miss “most” of training camp with a hamstring injury according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

He adds that head coach Brad Stevens hopes to see Thompson ramp up his activity and be ready for opening night against Milwaukee.

Let’s assume the incumbent Daniel Theis gets the nod on opening night simply because he would’ve played the entire training camp and be more ready in a fitness sense.

Who will get the most minutes at the end of the season and in the playoffs when Boston’s trying to win games?

In my opinion, it’ll be Thompson. He had a career year that went under the radar last season (you can blame the Cleveland jersey he wears for the under the radar aspect) with a career-high 12 points per game and just over ten rebounds on 52 percent effective field goal percentage.

Now, that’s not a wonderful eFG number (it’s in the 29th percentile per Cleaning the Glass) but this is with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland as the main ball handlers on that roster.

In the past two seasons since LeBron James left (and all the solid players that come with a championship contender) Thompson’s shots have moved further away from the rim and into the short mid-range area. Since he’s not a dominant on-ball player and dependent on others getting it to him in his spots, you can partly attribute that drop off to his surrounding cast.

Imagine him on a team with Kemba Walker, a better guard than he had in recent Cleveland years, and Jayson Tatum, a greater scorer than he had in any of the post-LeBron Cavs years and there’s reason to believe he will end up getting better looks and more open shots.

And in a non-analytic sense, Theis has struggled to guard the elite centers in the league in recent history with Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis, it wouldn’t hurt to throw a different body at those guys.

Finally, before you click to the next slide, I didn’t include them in the title, but Robert Williams and Grant Williams both showed promise last season and might even be a shout themselves to crack the regular rotation.