BOSTON — When Luka Garza signed with the Celtics over the summer, the path to consistent playing time was there. But it was a slow start for Garza as he struggled for stretches backing up starter Neemias Queta.
Over the past few games, though, Garza has stepped up to help the Celtics — especially on the boards. That effort hasn’t gone unnoticed as C’s coach Joe Mazzulla explained what Garza brings to the team on a nightly basis.
“The last three games, he’s played some inspired basketball,” Mazzulla said. “He has a special gift to be able to play just harder than everybody else on the floor. He’s got to keep that up for us. And he has a way to get, I think he got one like over two, three people there. So he has the ability to kind of do that for us.”
Garza finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, with five of those coming on the offensive glass. He also shot 6-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-3 on 3s. It was another solid night for Garza as the Celtics blew out the Grizzlies on Wednesday.
His performance follows a pair of games where he made an impact in the paint. In the 76ers loss, Garza had nine points and eight rebounds. In the game before that in the Magic victory, Garza put up 16 points and eight rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting. There’s a reason why Mazzulla pointed out his recent three-game stretch.
“The way I was raised by my parents — that was just kind of like the ideals they put into me playing sports in general,” Garza said. “I was a big sports fan and I think I identified early on I wasn’t the most athletic guy, so I had to find a way to get an edge. So every time I step on the court, that’s my mindset is to play harder than the guy in front of me. And throughout my career good things have happened.”
The Celtics will need more of that physical presence from the 6-foot-10 big man. While Queta has been a pleasant surprise as a starter this season, the backup big minutes were a major question mark. Garza has seemingly stepped up in that role as Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher have had their roles diminished recently.
As long as Garza is playing with that same effort level and crashing the glass, he’ll have a chance to impact the Celtics consistently. There have been some worrying stretches to open the season, but he’s stepped up in recent games.
“Offensive rebounding is all about effort,” Garza said. “It’s just crashing enough, putting yourself in good positions enough. There’s certain games it doesn’t bounce your way or it makes it hard, and then there’s certain games you’re kind of in there. But for me, it’s the same thing as we kind of talked about earlier with the process of getting good shots is the same as crashing and putting myself in the right spot every single time.”
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