Boston Celtics’ big man Daniel Theiss returned to play for the Celtics, starting his pre-season debut after missing out on Tuesday’s opening loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and with it back to the starting line-up.

The second year winger, Javonti Green, would get a second start, and the rest of the junior players from the Philly friendly match would remain the same, although the two-way Taco Fall center would sit with angry eyes. Speaking to the media before the match, coach Brad Stephens indicated that most players would get a similar range of minutes from their 76ers pre-season loss on Tuesday.

However, the Celtics coach did not pull the punches when explaining what the focus would be on.

#NEBHInjuryReport Update:

Taco Fall (right eye irritation) – outside
Romeo Langford (Right Wrist Surgery) – outside
Tristan Thompson (Right Hamstring Strain) – Out
Kimba Walker (Left Knee Orthosis) – Out

Boston Celtics December 18, 2020

He bluntly said: “We need to get a good job in terms of air conditioning and cleaning some things from last night.”

Boston will face a former TD Garden star guard for the first time since leaving at a freestyle agency to join Brooklyn, and will have Kevin Durant in good health, which is only his second game in professional basketball since his Achilles tendon has ruptured more than last season.

“Kevin has been one of the great players of this generation, and Kerry is very special,” said Stevens, who is highly respected by the Celtics opponent in the Atlantic Division.

“They’re so deep. I love their additions in Offseason hosting Landry Shamet and Jeff Green.”

Nets’ Kyrie Irving is said to have been playing in TD Garden vs Celtics https://t.co/zkOTcqlDDx

– The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 18, 2020

New Nets’ coach (if they had one – we’re mostly kids) Steve Nash responded with a lofty vision similar to his team’s opponent when he was asked to rate the usefulness of the Celtics as a high-level early test or fair or not.

“It’s great to be playing with a really good team,” said Nash.

“This is a competitor that has been deep in qualifiers frequently. Great talent, great training, culture. They have those experiences in common, so you know they’ve been running this back for years … It would be a huge challenge for us to see a team more formed than we are. He was there, and he did it. “

Boston’s team is still falling short of two of its top five potential players, and it may not be the team Nash describes Just So far, but with Theis back in rotation, they’re a little closer to getting there.