Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) was tough in the paint in Wednesday night's 110-108 preseason win over Toronto at the Garden, blocking 4 shots while adding 12 rebounds and 8 points in 21 minutes.
Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) was tough in the paint in Wednesday night's 110-108 preseason win over Toronto at the Garden, blocking 4 shots while adding 12 rebounds and 8 points in 21 minutes.Charles Krupa/Associated Press
The Celtics salary predicament has created an opportunity for Neemias Queta. He has the chance to be the team’s starting center after the three bigs ahead of him on the depth chart last season all departed.
Without the financial flexibility to sign an outside quality center, the Celtics are banking the 26-year-old is ready for the job. But the preseason has been rough for the 7-footer, as he looked uncomfortable and was foul prone, not resembling a frontline NBA center.
But there are going to be those nights because of his inexperience. He has played in 110 NBA games, but is Boston’s best option in the middle in this transition season. He needed a positive ending to training camp, and turned in a solid performance in Wednesday’s 110-108 win over the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden.
Queta impacted the paint defensively with 4 blocked shots, and added 8 points and 12 rebounds. The Celtics don’t need Queta to be an All-NBA center but they do need him to defend, rebound, avoid foul issues, and score in the paint. It’s a role he has worked feverishly hard to achieve over the past two years, developing from a Sacramento second-round pick into a capable reserve in Boston.
But he and the organization wants more, especially because it has spent the past two years developing Queta from a raw, unseasoned big man into a rotation player last season.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has been his biggest critic and supporter, because he not only viewed this moment as unavoidable with the Celtics’ salary cap issues, but saw the work ethic and potential in Queta and sought excellence.
Ask him about Queta and sometimes Mazzulla smiles; other times, the coach shakes his head. The constructing of a quality NBA center is a tedious process filled with peaks and pitfalls.
“It’s hard,” Mazzulla said. “We’re going to be hard on Neemi and I’m really looking forward to coaching him throughout the year. But as I told him, this is what you worked your whole life for, a chance to start for the Celtics, and you see this with players when they step into different phases of their career.
“It’s easy to be the rookie, kinda of easy to be the fourth-string big, and then it’s kinda of easy to be the backup. And now you have to develop a mindset to deliver every night, and I think he has that.”
The goal now is for Queta to gain consistency, not be great but be reliable every night, a steady veteran and professional. And a week before the season begins, one of the biggest questions for the Celtics is whether Queta has made this leap. That has not yet been determined.
The Celtics coaching staff, like assistant Sam Cassell (right), are working hard to help turn Neemias Queta into a quality starting NBA center.
The Celtics coaching staff, like assistant Sam Cassell (right), are working hard to help turn Neemias Queta into a quality starting NBA center.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
“I feel pretty good, I’m gradually getting better, gradually getting to know my teammates and figuring out how to play with the new guys,” Queta said. “We’re starting to get on the same page and get better as a team.”
Yet, the significance of the moment is not lost on Queta. He realizes he has the chance to be introduced as the Opening Night center next Wednesday at TD Garden. This isn’t the Hornets or Grizzlies or Kings. Queta realizes that starting for a franchise with annual championship aspirations (even this season, if you ask Mazzulla) is different.
“I’m not trying to make a big deal out of it, but at the end of the day, I’m going to start for the Celtics — and that’s a big deal in itself,” he said. “The main thing is keeping the same mindset I’ve always had. I’m just trying to help the team win, no matter if I’m starting or coming off the bench. I’ve got to impose my will and make my teammates better.”
The lowkey approach is definitely Queta’s personality. He’s a gentle giant, a soft-spoken, astute young man off the floor. But Mazzulla seeks to bring the fury out of Queta on the floor. And since the former Utah State standout was signed two years ago, the coach has been his shadow, chiding him for mistakes, encouraging his progress.
“Yeah because I believe in him,” Mazzulla said when asked if he was hard in Queta. “I think that his growth is important for us. He’s been here for two (plus years) and he’s gotten better all the time. But I think that’s why you get into coaching — to take guys like that and see where they can get you, and it’s been fun getting to that. I really do enjoy coaching him.”
Mazzulla’s effort isn’t lost on Queta. He realizes the Celtics have put more effort into his development than he received in Sacramento. The tough-love approach has worked so far, but there’s also the reassuring side of Mazzulla, especially after nights like Wednesday.
“That’s the duality of it, where you’ve got a coach that knows how to push guys to the limit and knows how to bring the best out of you,” Queta said. “It’s going to be like that. It’s all about staying even keeled and living in the moment, because he can be pretty harsh in certain (times). But at the same time, the rewards can be great.”
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.