Joe Mazzulla Reveals Area Of Improvement For Celtics Breakout Star originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Neemias Queta has come a long way this season, going from the Boston Celtics‘ fourth-string center last year to one of the best centers in the league.

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Queta proved that again on Sunday night with his dominant performance against the Philadelphia 76ers. He exploded for a career-high 27 points to go along with 17 rebounds and three blocks, propelling the Celtics to a 114-98 victory over their Eastern Conference rivals.

However, it wasn’t a flawless performance for the 26-year-old center. Queta missed three free throws and unnecessarily blocked a ball into the stands that he could have secured, costing Boston a possession and briefly drawing the ire of Joe Mazzulla.

After the game, Queta and Mazzulla both agreed that’s something he needs to work on.

“I do think that’s an area of growth,” Mazzulla said during his postgame press conference. “Like, if you can catch it, catch it. Why give a team another possession? You just get the ball, and then we go in transition. So it’s definitely something he’s gotta better.”

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Queta agreed and appreciates Mazzulla pushing him to be better, which has helped him realize his potential this season.

“When Joe keeps coming at you like that, you’re only going to get better. Like he says, something that’s occurred a lot in the last couple of games,” Queta acknowledged. “Hopefully, I get a couple of those next couple of games.”

Assuming he plays, Queta’s next chance to impress Mazzulla will be tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks.

More NBA: NBA Analyst Issues Public Apology To Celtics’ Neemias Queta After Monster Game