After Alex Sarr knocked down a wide-open three, Joe Mazzulla immediately called for a timeout.
The furious coach stormed over to the baseline, where Neemias Queta was standing, and started yelling at the big man — arms flying, coaching him up hard.
Mazzulla stayed in his ear all the way to the bench until Queta took his seat. Once he sat, Mazzulla reached out his hand and dapped him up before walking away to join the assistant coaches in the huddle on the floor.
It wasn’t the first time Mazzulla has lit into his center during a timeout. In fact, it wasn’t even the only time it happened in that game. But that sequence — the fire, followed by the encouragement — was the perfect snapshot of the tough love he gives Queta.
Mazzulla’s been hard on him since the day he arrived in Boston as a two-way player who had just been waived by the Sacramento Kings in favor of a 36-year-old JaVale McGee. The discipline isn’t because he’s disappointed in him — it’s because he believes in him. He sees Queta’s potential and holds him to the highest standard he believes Queta is capable of reaching. And now that Queta’s getting his shot as the Celtics’ starting center, he hasn’t let his coach down, with Wednesday night’s strong showing serving as the latest affirmation.
Queta finished with season-highs across the board: 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting, along with 12 rebounds and five assists — becoming the first player in Celtics history to record at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists while shooting without a miss. The performance marked his fourth career double-double and his second of the season, en route to a +24 in just 23 minutes. He also added a steal and a block.
“He just played well,” Mazzulla said. “The bigs, they got a lot to do on both ends of the floor. But the timing on his shifts defensively was good, his screening was good, and his offensive rebounding was good. He played the way that we know he can. So he’s gotta keep fighting for that. But yeah, he played well tonight.”
Defensively, Alex Sarr’s 31 points and eight rebounds can be misleading. He got the better of Queta at times, but Queta had his own moments and tightened up after a slow start. He was especially strong on the glass, keeping Sarr quiet after the big man grabbed five boards in the first quarter. Mazzulla praised Queta for how he handled the matchup, highlighting the way he challenged the rising second-year center.
“Sarr has been playing really well. I think he’s a good player and has gotten better. But I think Neemi just took the challenge and was great in his individual defense, his pick-and-roll defense, and his timing off-ball,” Mazzulla said. “Neemi, the work that he’s putting in – he’s getting better and better. He’s got to keep it up.”
There have been hiccups, but overall, the Celtics have to be pleased with what Queta — who is averaging 9.1 points (71.4% FG), 8.1 rebounds (2.8 offensive), 1.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks — has provided this season. He has been a steady presence on both ends of the floor, and the numbers back that up.
With Queta on the floor, the Celtics are outscoring opponents by 75 points (team-best), and with him off, they’re being outscored by 39 points (team-worst). His +75 plus-minus ranks second in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the NBA. His 19.3 net rating leads the Celtics (among players who have appeared in at least six games) and ranks second in the NBA (among players with at least six games and averaging 20+ minutes per contest).
It’s not easy to make the jump from being the fourth center behind Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet to becoming the starter, but Queta has handled it admirably. Many of the steps he took at EuroBasket this summer, where he averaged 15.5 points, eight rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game, have carried over to the NBA, and he has shown he can produce at this level.
There is still room for improvement, but one of the big questions entering the season was whether Queta could develop into a player who can contribute on Boston’s next title-contending roster. So far, the early results are trending in the right direction.
“He has a lot of potential to be great,” Payton Pritchard said. “We need him. We need his presence down low, his rebounding, his shotblocking. Obviously, he shows flashes of doing things offensively that could be really great for us. He’s a young player still, and he’s still growing, so we’re gonna hold him to a high standard.”
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