Doc Rivers didn’t know what to expect from Greg Stiemsma when he told the 26-year-old rookie he would be in the starting lineup for the Celtics when they played the Wizards on Monday night. That’s not entirely true. “I knew he was going to block a shot,” Rivers said.

Coming into Monday’s game, Stiemsma had blocked 10 shots in 49 minutes, a rate of 7.3 per 36 minutes on the court. Even in a small sample size, that’s a huge number and it provides a dimension the Celtics have sorely lacked over the last few years. So, it wasn’t a big surprise when Stiemsma notched his first block about a minute and a half into the game.

Actually, block doesn’t do it justice. Stiemsma crushed Rashard Lewis, sending him crashing to the floor and raising the ire of Wizards coach Flip Saunders who was quickly tossed. Stiemsma blocked another and in a bit of a revelation, scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting with seven rebounds in 21 minutes as the Celtics won their third straight game, 100-92.

“I’m just happy for him,” Kevin Garnett said. “I can’t even put into words how much the opportunity means to a guy like that and his family. You know what I hate is everybody knows who Greg is now and he’s not our big secret anymore. He has uncanny instincts to block shots like nobody else, like no one I’ve ever seen.” 

Stiemsma could always block shots. He learned the skill in his driveway in his hometown of Randolph, Wisconsin where he would play pickup games with his friends. Even though he was a big kid he had to deal with the age-old issue of trying to stop his friends, and their older brothers. So he tried to block their shots.

“It’s something I’ve always had,” Stiemsma said about an hour before the game. “I got a little athleticism as I got older and got my timing down.”

Eventually Stiemsma grew into a shot-blocking force, leading the Randolph Rockets to three straight state titles and then a successful run at the University of Wisconsin.

“I grew up playing, grew up winning,” he said. “Every time we stepped on the floor we expected to win. I couldn’t tell you too much about the hundreds of wins but I could tell you about the 10 or 12 losses we had growing up.”

It’s a measure of his low-key personality that he didn’t mention his starting nod during a seven-minute conversation with a reporter.

“He’s a very confident guy, quiet as it’s kept,” Rajon Rondo said. “He doesn’t say much. He believes in his game and he has to. It starts with yourself and then obviously build as your teammates believe in you.”

Stiemsma began building trust from the beginning of camp when players were still trickling in and he was able to get on the practice court from the first day. “After the second or third day of camp you’re thinking, ‘Wow, this guy is pretty good,” Rivers said.

But one thing still bothered the coach. Stiemsma wouldn’t shoot. In drills he’d knock down jumper after jumper from the elbows, but in live action he wouldn’t take the shot. So Rivers made him stand up in front of the team and say, ‘My name is Greg Stiemsma. I’m a shooter.’” It made the coach happy when in one sequence he missed a shot, got the ball back and shot it again.

Stiemsma’s journey from tiny Randolph, located about an hour north of Madison and home to less than 2,000 people, to the Celtics has been long and circuitous. He played in the D-League and overseas in places like Turkey and South Korea. One time in Georgia (the country, not the state) he finally got a block on his old Wisconsin teammate Mike Wilkinson, who he described as an, “Undersized post but crafty.” After he got the block, Stiemsma told him, “I finally got you man. It took me eight years to do it, but I got you.”

After all he’s been through, he carries himself like a veteran, which has not been lost of teammates, but he’s also perceptive enough to understand the opportunity he has, and that’s not lost on them either.

“He came from the bottom, came from nothing, very appreciative of his opportunity,” Garnett said. “Comes in and works his ass off. I’m not just saying that. He comes in and works his ass off, a true professional. You’re just happy to see a guy get an opportunity like that and more importantly take advantage of it.”

In the short amount of time he’s been on the team, Stiemsma has tried to soak up every bit of information that Garnett can supply him.

“He does so many things right, every time," Stiemsma said. "There’s so many details, even the little angles of showing out or getting back or whatever it is. When we’re watching film, it’s like, all right Kevin’s in the right spot. He did this right. It’s almost hard to find a mistake.”

In terms of NBA dynamics, Stiemsma is found money. The going rate for backup centers who can block shots, rebound and even score a little is outrageous. (See Kwame Brown’s one-year, $7 million deal with the Warriors). Four games and 70 minutes do not make a career by any means, but Stiemsma is showing that he belongs.

The hard part begins now. He needs to work on his positioning and knowing when to hold his ground. Wizards center Javale McGee, an athletic freak if ever there was one, had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Teams will know who he is now and Stiemsma will have make adjustments, but he’s no longer that guy from the D-League. He’s a player. 

“I told him he’s in the league now,” Garnett said. “He’s not going to be that much of a mystery.”