[Forsberg] Neemias Queta is a lean, mean screening machine for Celtics
November 17, 2025
[Forsberg] Neemias Queta is a lean, mean screening machine for Celtics
7 comments
From Chris Forsberg:
The Boston Celtics produced one their most efficient 3-point shooting nights of the season Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers. And a lot of the credit should go to … 7-foot center Neemias Queta?
A screen assist is defined as any screen that directly leads to a basket by the player who received the screen. The NBA has been tracking screen assists as part of its hustle stats package for about a decade, and Queta’s numbers in Sunday’s game were off the charts.
Queta ranks fourth in the NBA while averaging 3.9 screen assists per game. He sits fifth in the league while generating 9.2 screen assist points per game. His totals on Sunday more than doubled his average output.
After Queta’s big screening game — and Luka Garza’s relentless screening off the bench — the Celtics now lead the NBA in screen assist points per game (23.7). Boston is tied with Utah atop the league while generating 9.9 screen assists per game.
Screen assists were being made fun of as being a bit of too elaborate a statistic to really denote game impact. However, with Queta, part of why he couldn’t get as much run last year is because Kornet, along with K just being good, he was much better at screening. This stat can probably at least point to strong improvement for Queta, which is great as he has been thrust into being the Celts #1 big instead of the 4th one from last year.
I was getting dragged for suggesting that Queta was likely to be better for us than Kornet was last season. He’s a lot more mobile and just as good of a lob threat.
The real key is the team shooting less 3s overall. Under 40 is a good sign. More drives and pull up shots (then you, Jaylen) opens up the top of the 3 for the screens Queta is setting
We lost a lot of experience and winning with Al leaving. His ability to run the pick and roll and be in the right spot on defense was special. Im glad Queta had some overlap with Al, hopefully learned a few tricks!
Scal said the Celtics are really good at developing bigs and it certainly seems to be true we’ve seen several bigs improve here over the years. Both Queta and Garza seem like real players this year.
Queta just needed minutes. His IQ is getting better with time. The game is clearly slowing down for him. I love that for him and the team. It is clear that without him on the court the C’s struggle. The biggest problem is there is no one the bench that can fill the void while he sits.
7 comments
From Chris Forsberg:
The Boston Celtics produced one their most efficient 3-point shooting nights of the season Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers. And a lot of the credit should go to … 7-foot center Neemias Queta?
Queta didn’t hoist a single triple, but he used his large frame to generate quality looks for his teammates. Queta was credited with eight screen assists leading to 21 points as the Celtics built a big cushion then held on for [a 121-118 triumph over the Clippers at TD Garden](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/live-updates-clippers-highlights-analysis-jaylen-brown/747659/).
A screen assist is defined as any screen that directly leads to a basket by the player who received the screen. The NBA has been tracking screen assists as part of its hustle stats package for about a decade, and Queta’s numbers in Sunday’s game were off the charts.
Queta ranks fourth in the NBA while averaging 3.9 screen assists per game. He sits fifth in the league while generating 9.2 screen assist points per game. His totals on Sunday more than doubled his average output.
After Queta’s big screening game — and Luka Garza’s relentless screening off the bench — the Celtics now lead the NBA in screen assist points per game (23.7). Boston is tied with Utah atop the league while generating 9.9 screen assists per game.
[Read more here](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/neemias-queta-screening-stats/747875/).
Screen assists were being made fun of as being a bit of too elaborate a statistic to really denote game impact. However, with Queta, part of why he couldn’t get as much run last year is because Kornet, along with K just being good, he was much better at screening. This stat can probably at least point to strong improvement for Queta, which is great as he has been thrust into being the Celts #1 big instead of the 4th one from last year.
I was getting dragged for suggesting that Queta was likely to be better for us than Kornet was last season. He’s a lot more mobile and just as good of a lob threat.
The real key is the team shooting less 3s overall. Under 40 is a good sign. More drives and pull up shots (then you, Jaylen) opens up the top of the 3 for the screens Queta is setting
We lost a lot of experience and winning with Al leaving. His ability to run the pick and roll and be in the right spot on defense was special. Im glad Queta had some overlap with Al, hopefully learned a few tricks!
Scal said the Celtics are really good at developing bigs and it certainly seems to be true we’ve seen several bigs improve here over the years. Both Queta and Garza seem like real players this year.
Queta just needed minutes. His IQ is getting better with time. The game is clearly slowing down for him. I love that for him and the team. It is clear that without him on the court the C’s struggle. The biggest problem is there is no one the bench that can fill the void while he sits.