Boston\u2019s 133-101 win<\/a> over Milwaukee. \u201cGetting to understand my teammates, getting to understand how to get them open, how to figure out how to score down in the paint, and rebounding is something I\u2019ve been doing for a long time. So I\u2019m glad I got to 1,000. Let\u2019s get to 10,000 or whatever more I can get.\u201d<\/p>\nBefore the season, Queta had only 396 career rebounds as a backup on Boston\u2019s bench. He\u2019s already grabbed 604 boards this season alone, emerging as a late-bloomer who\u2019s reshaping how the league sees him. He\u2019s playing the role of a traditional center without the bells and whistles of modern NBA bigs \u2014 and it\u2019s paying off. Queta has found the sweet spot of not doing too much, but doing more than enough to push Boston to heights many considered unfeasible on Opening Night.<\/p>\n
Queta is averaging a career-high 10.1 points while shooting 64.3 percent from the field. He ranks seventh in the league in both defensive rating (105.5) and net rating (11.9). The Celtics, meanwhile, average the fewest turnovers (12.2), rank second in offensive rating (119.9), and third in 3-pointers made (15.3), maintaining their No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference since Jan. 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting good looks, and once we manipulate the defense, we\u2019re able to knock down shots,\u201d Queta said in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Even at the February trade deadline, when the Celtics swapped Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107, Queta maintained his role as the go-to center. Vu\u010devi\u0107, a 15-year veteran and two-time All-Star, has come off the bench in 11 of his 12 appearances behind Queta, showing how far he\u2019s come since Mazzulla entrusted him with the starting role.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Jayson Tatum told reporters. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be more proud and happier for Neemi. You know, the way he\u2019s seeing the game, the leap that he\u2019s made as a screener, as a passer. Somebody you can trust when you throw the ball in the seams \u2014 finishing, protecting the rim. He is an NBA starting big man. That\u2019s who he is now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three years ago, the Sacramento Kings waived Queta, allowing him to sign a two-way contract with the Celtics a week later. He showed promising flashes during Boston\u2019s 2023-24 championship season, making 28 appearances and earning a standard contract before the playoffs. Year after year, Queta continued to improve as a member of the \u201cStay-Ready Group.\u201d When the biggest opportunity of his professional career finally arrived, he validated Boston\u2019s offseason plan and player development program.<\/p>\n
Now, there\u2019s no telling where Queta\u2019s ceiling is.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s only going to continue to get better,\u201d Tatum added.<\/p>\n
Last season, Queta was a reserve stuck in the shadows of Porzi\u0146\u0123is, Horford, and Kornet as the Celtics approached the playoffs. With Porzi\u0146\u0123is sidelined by a mystery illness, Kornet emerged as the unung hero against the New York Knicks in Round 2. This time, the floor belongs to Queta. He\u2019s the primary center and most reliable big, and rather than serving as a placeholder, he has become an integral piece. He\u2019s helped make the Spain pick-and-roll a dependable tactic in their offense, creating space for teammates with simple, yet effective actions that go unnoticed in the boxscore.<\/p>\n
In seven previous playoff appearances with the Celtics, Queta never played more than five minutes. In Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, he played 5 minutes.<\/p>\n
However, Queta\u2019s breakout has him feeling confident and locked in for Boston\u2019s final stretch before the playoffs.<\/p>\n
The Celtics return home after back-to-back blowout victories, scoring 280 points in Miami and Milwaukee to maintain a 2 1\/2 game lead over the No. 3 seed New York Knicks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we\u2019re trending in the right direction,\u201d Queta said. \u201cWe\u2019re playing great basketball. We\u2019re looking great offensively. Our defense is picking up a lot, so we just want to keep on honing these skills and keep on getting better because we\u2019ve got these last five games to finish strong and then head into the playoffs with the best momentum to go full steam ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Boston Celtics chose Neemias Queta as their starting center, they rolled the dice. They moved on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,45,75,3798,46,21388,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-697852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-bostonceltics","12":"tag-celtics","13":"tag-celtics-news","14":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116346912976438539","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}