Neemias Queta is well on his way of becoming another one of the Celtics developmental success stories. On Monday night, the 25-year-old got his first start of the season against the Hawks and after a rocky start, he course-corrected in the second half and showed why Boston invested in him this summer.
In a 30-point blowout, Queta finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and a block and was a +31 on the night. It was a continuation of what’s been a positive stretch on this four-game road trip. He’d had three consecutive games with 10+ minutes in playing time before the start against the Hawks, including logging a +18 in a furious comeback in Indiana as the closing big.
“I think he’s a little more comfortable. He knows where he’s supposed to be at,” Derrick White said pre-game. “He seems to be in the right place at the right time — obviously, offensive rebounds and him as an athlete. He’s a little different from the other bigs we have. It’s a nice change of pace.”
As a starter, he was a natural fit next to Al Horford in a two-big alignment with Horford spacing the floor and protecting the paint and Queta flying around as a rim runner and help defender.
Many of his points either came off the offensive glass, running the floor in transition, or instinctively being in the right place at the right time.
Where there’s a lot to be desired is on the defensive end. Maybe because it’s the start of first full year in the NBA, maybe it’s because he relies too heavily on his athleticism, Queta is often a step late and a shift of the hips off. After two blown ISO’s against Jalen Johnson in the first quarter, Queta was benched. After that first stint with mixed results, Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum dapped him up and Joe Mazzulla pulled him aside.
“He’s just grown a lot as a player, and quite honestly, he doesn’t know how good he can be,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “He’s got a great ceiling, so the standard is very high. I thought he did some great things for us tonight. When you’re as good as he can be, we all gotta hold him to that standard every single night.”
White was a little more direct.
“I think Neemy is our most athletic big. I don’t think that’s controversial — sorry, Luke. He’s just a little bit more athletic and he’s moving well out there.”
After Johnson cooked him for eight points in the first quarter, he shot just 1-for-6 in the third with Queta as his primary defender. Here’s Queta sticking to Trae Young step-for-step:
We talk all the time in our CelticsBlog Slack about Queta’s similarities to Robert Williams III. The wingspan and the hops are undeniably Timelord, but so are the early defensive struggles. Too often in Williams’ early years was he susceptible to pump fakes and quick first steps. Thankfully, he’s got a depth of knowledge to dig in to in the locker room. Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman are all plus-positional defenders.
More so, the organization is behind him. After signing a three-year deal this summer, thus starts Queta’s learning curve. Mazzulla said that he’s picking things up fairly quickly and that he likes using Queta’s versatility because he provides another element as a switchable defender.
“He works really hard. He cares. He wants to be coached, and I’m grateful he allows me to coach him,” Mazzulla said. “He’s starting to realize how good he really can be.”
