“Getting demolished tonight”: Clippers fandom in shambles as Daniel Theis gets baptized by Tari Eason

The Los Angeles Clippers announced the signing of big man Daniel Theis on Friday, and right away, he was inserted into their NBA In-Season Tournament game against the Houston Rockets at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. However, Daniel Theis' Clippers debut was quickly marred by being on the wrong end of a Tari Eason posterizer.

Eason did not mind that he was sizing up against a recently crowned FIBA Basketball World Cup champion and slammed the ball in with Theis jumping in a bit too late:

One fan could not help but accept the fact that Theis probably gets posterized every time he debuts for a new team:

For another fan, the posterizer just made him realize Theis is already with the Clippers:

Worse, Theis is not even a shadow of his former FIBA Basketball World Cup self who helped Germany win the gold in Pasay City, Philippines, only tallying two points, three rebounds and one steal off the bench.

This led to a fan believing Theis would be "getting demolished tonight":

More reactions followed on X:

"He’s undersized, unathletic, and not good anymore. I don't know why your front office refuses to take a stab at young guys out there."

"Daniel Theis has played better than I have ever seen Zu play so I don't know what you're watching. Sure there's been a few miscues defensively, but it's literally his first game boss. At least he's actually being guarded by his man on defense instead of having to play 4 vs. 5."

Daniel Theis gets last laugh as Clippers finally win in James Harden era

At the end of the day, though, Daniel Theis' first game with the Los Angeles Clippers ended up in a win as they finally prevailed with James Harden around.

Harden scored the go-ahead four-point play with six seconds left, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets, 106-100.

Harden finished with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds, seven assists and one block.

Kawhi Leonard, who iced the game with two more free throws in the end, led the Los Angeles Clippers, now 1-2 in West Group B and 4-7 overall, with 26 points, eight rebounds, two assists, five steals and one block.

Paul George tallied 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block.

For the Rockets, Alperen Sengun had 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal. Meanwhile, Jalen Green added 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and one block.

Fred VanVleet flirted with a triple-double as he had 19 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds with one steal and one block.

With the loss, the Houston Rockets fell to 1-1 in the NBA In-Season Tournament and 6-3 overall.