This isn’t Eric Montross. This isn’t Vitaly Potapenko. This isn’t Acie Earl. And this isn’t Travis Knight.
Nor is he Kendrick Perkins.
Greg Stiemsma is his own man, and so far, he has looked like a steal for the creaky Celtics.
He has 13 blocks in eight games for the 4-4 C’s and has quickly become a defensive presence for a group that desperately needed a jolt of youth.
“Leadership-wise on defense, we’re all set,” Stiemsma told Metro. “We’re not going to get a ton of practice time, but you can already see that we’ve contested shots better and gotten more stops [recently]. At this point, for us on defense, it’s all about execution.”
Last Friday’s effort against Indiana was a tough one to swallow for Celtics fans, as the Green posted a paltry 25 points in the first half. But lost in the offensive mess was the way the Celtics defense frustrated the suddenly legit Pacers.
Stiemsma and the C’s held Indiana to just 40.5 percent from the field.
Already a fan favorite at the Garden, Stiemsma won over his teammates (and Tommy Heinsohn) during a Dec. 28 game at New Orleans, in which the Wisconsin product blocked six shots in 20 minutes of action.
The Celtics are in the midst of an unusual four-day break in the abbreviated schedule and won’t play again until Wednesday night when they face off against the defending World Champion Dallas Mavericks (8 p.m., CSNNE).
