BOSTON — The Celtics entered the new season with plenty of questions, and there was no bigger one than at the center position. Following the soft reset there, C’s coach Joe Mazzulla rolled with Neemias Queta as the starter in their season-opening 117-116 loss to the 76ers on Wednesday from TD Garden.
Queta put up a solid night Wednesday as a bright spot, finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds, shooting 7-for-8 from the field. The Celtics guards found him on the pick-and-roll frequently as the Sixers lost him in coverage a few times. That allowed him to be part of the closing lineup before he fouled out with less than two minutes to go in the game.
“He was great,” Derrick White said. “Just being available. Obviously a big target and has soft touch around the hoop, as well. He did a lot of things out there for us and competed at a high level, so that’s the Neemi we’re going to need all year.”
Queta has shown he can be a rotational big man in the league over the past few seasons when he was relied upon as a depth piece. But this starting role is new as the Celtics are hoping to get production out of their bigs. Originally, Mazzulla went with three bigs in Queta, Luka Garza and Xavier Tillman as part of the rotation. However, Garza missed most of the game after a hard hit to the head led to him entering concussion protocols.
So, the Celtics relied on Queta and Tillman for the bulk of the minutes. However, the foul trouble is something that will need to be cleaned up from Queta’s end. He picked up six fouls in 25 minutes of play. Queta had to leave early due to that sixth foul, necessitating Tillman to enter the closing lineup for some possessions.
Queta had an up-and-down preseason. He was brutal in the Oct. 10 game against the Raptors where he struggled at multiple points. Then he only played seven minutes against the Cavaliers as the other bigs got more run. But Queta showed why he was expected to be relied upon in Boston facing the Raptors again Oct. 15, playing much more consistently in his minutes.
The Celtics have succeeded on the player development front in recent seasons, whether it was Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser. Queta looks like the next guy after the team originally signed him to a two-way contract a few years ago. His game Wednesday impressed as the C’s needed that production, but it’ll be about being a reliable force. Plus, he’ll need to clean up the foul trouble and shore up defensively going forward.
“He’s got it in him to be good for us, and he did some really good things,” Mazzulla said. “The standard’s high for him, I thought he answered the call, and he just has to continue to get better and better.”
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