There was no Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid-style player on the parquet when the Celtics took the floor Wednesday night, and yet, the Charlotte Hornets neutralized Boston’s big men from the jump.
Neemias Queta could not have looked more different from the superman who hung a career-high 27 points on the Philadelphia 76ers just 48 hours before Wednesday night’s 118-89 loss. He turned the ball over twice and made just one basket - a post-up from Baylor Sheierman in the second quarter. Those points came on what felt like rare back-to-back fruitful possessions from an erratic Celtics offense that finished the first half with a 32.6% field goal percentage.
He made one of his signature blocks on the other side of the floor, but the ball seamlessly found its way to Charlotte’s Pat Connaughton, who sank a silky three. That’s the way much of the game went, with the Celtics down by 22 points at various times.
Queta, 26, also took Monday’s road game against Milwaukee off to rest. Boston dominated the Bucks, 108-81, on the second night of a back-to-back in that matchup.
His more senior counterpart, Nikola Vucevic, wasn’t able to provide much relief from the bench – although Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla looked to the backup center quickly in the first half during an injury scare regarding Queta. Vucevic posted two double-doubles in the three games heading into Wednesday. But with the young, fast Hornets swarming the parquet, he looked a step behind on both ends of the floor.
His evening was unfortunate as he’s been able to provide Boston with a different look at the big man void left by the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford last summer. Vucevic can spread the offense and provide a post-up game. But neither of those attributes were effective Wednesday. His attempts to clean up around Boston’s basket whiffed, and so it was no surprise that Boston walked into the locker room at halftime with 0 second-chance points.
"We were 4-18 on missed layups in the first half. They got a ton of transition opportunities off those," Mazzulla said, postgame.
"I think that was the tale of the first half. They capitalized on our missed possessions," he added.
He turned to Luka Garza in the fourth quarter, the developmental center whose minutes have been slashed with Vucevic’s arrival, via trade.
The Hornets are probably better than the 9-spot they occupy in the East right now. They’re on a six-game winning streak and former Boston assistant Charles Lee has the team playing a brand of efficient and energetic team offense, (four different Hornets finished with double-digit points).
Charlotte attacked from the arc early, making 11 of 22 3-point attempts in the first half and beating Mazzulla with his own statistic warfare.
So, does a ‘meh’ performance like this one - in which the Celtics wrapped with a bottom-five field goal percentage on the season and saw both their big men vanish – set off alarm bells just weeks away from the playoffs?
"We just didn't have it tonight," Mazzula said after the loss.
So, probably not, but it’s a reminder of the wide-open nature of the Eastern Conference. The Hornets are exactly the type of team who can throw a punch and spoil, or at least make a first round difficult, for a team with aspirations as serious as those of the Celtics.