BOSTON — The Celtics roster has had its challenges during a 4-5 start to the season but perhaps none more than backup center. Boston is playing well with Neemias Queta in the lineup but have largely been dominated of late when the starting center is on the bench. Queta’s net rating is a +19.3, the best among all rotation players on Boston’s roster.
Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher have all gotten a crack at the center position in limited minutes and the results have been underwhelming, with all three having negative net ratings. The same remained true on Wednesday night when the Celtics were outscored by three points with Garza on the floor in a 29-point win. Tillman and Boucher didn’t get off the bench.
With the Wizards big men carving up the Celtics on the pick-and-roll through much of the first quarter against Garza, Joe Mazzulla made a key adjustment, opting for Neemias Queta or Josh Minott to play center for the entire second quarter.
The move paid dividends as the Celtics outscored the Wizards 44-23 in the frame, setting the stage for a massive turnaround as the hosts outscored Washington 110-70 over the final three quarters of the blowout victory.
Playing Queta more minutes is simply going to be required for this team to win games but finding a viable alternative to him on this roster is going to be important for 20 minutes a night. Minott’s emergence makes him an intriguing possibility on that front.
“We’ve got to get better at it,” Mazzulla said of playing Minott at center. “But I think throughout the game, it took away a lot of their rolls. Sarr and Bagley are both obviously active rollers, and I think having that in there and their switching kind of took that stuff away for most of the second half.”
Minott has been a better defensive rebounder this season than Boston’s other reserve bigs and him playing at center allows Mazzulla to get another wing on the floor.
“I’ve done it a little bit,” Minott said of playing center. “I’m trying to work on my versatility defensively every day. I’ve done it a few times in the past. I’m definitely trying to expand my game to include that five-man role.”
Minott finished with a career-high 21 points and five rebounds over his 34 minutes in the win while also grabbing three steals.
The size concerns upfront could be more of an issue against bigger teams than the Wizards but given the flaws of this roster, Mazzulla may have uncovered a viable solution against some second units. The emergence of Jordan Walsh and his rebounds (seven boards in 23 minutes) helped on this front, adding another wing willing to hit the glass.
The Celtics don’t have a lot of perfect options with their bench unit but they can’t afford to be bad on both ends of the floor. With Garza and Xavier Tillman providing limited offensive upside, Minott’s versatility at center helped create a more stout defense on Wednesday night when Queta was not in the game. That’s a development that’s worth monitoring as the Celtics begin a challenging three-game road trip Friday night by trying to build an identity with their second unit groups.
“That’s what teams are fighting for around this time,” Mazzulla said. “Everyone kind of knows what their identity is, but you’re looking to quickly get to the consistency of that. Again, it’s never going to be 48 [minutes] - can it be 40 to 44, right? And having an understanding of that.”
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