When Luka Garza arrived in Boston this summer, Joe Mazzulla quickly realized something about the 6-foot-10 big man:
This guy plays hard, all the time.
Garza’s indefatigable effort couldn’t earn him a rotation role during his three seasons in Minnesota, but it’s made him a good fit for a Celtics team that’s emphasizing energy and aggressiveness.
After Garza scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds (including five offensive boards) in a 131-95 rout of the Grizzlies on Wednesday, Mazzulla raved about his ability to keep his motor running at full speed.
“He’s been good, and I think the last three games, he’s played some inspired basketball,” the Celtics head coach 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 (rebound) over two, three people there. So he has the ability to kind of do that for us, and he’s been good. He just has to keep playing inspired basketball.”
Several other unproven Celtics have been able to carve out roles this season through effort and hustle (Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, Hugo Gonzalez), but most of them are defense-first players. Garza, conversely, has never been a high-level defender. His impact is most visible on the offensive glass, where he’s been one of the most efficient rebounders in the NBA this season.
As of Thursday, Garza ranked third among all players with at least 150 minutes played in offensive boards per 36 minutes (6.1), trailing Houston’s Steven Adams and Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate. His offensive rebounding rate off missed field goals is in the 92nd percentile for his position, per Cleaning the Glass, and he grabbed at least four OREBs in each of his last three games.
The rest of Garza’s offensive game has been less consistent, but he’s scored in double figures four times this season after totaling just five such performances over his final two years with the Timberwolves. His 14 second-half points on Sunday night helped the Celtics pull away from the Magic, and he hit two of his three 3-point attempts against Memphis.
The 26-year-old said the work ethic that’s endeared him to Mazzulla is a product of his upbringing.
“The way I was raised, my parents, that was just kind of 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. I don’t know if I was born with it or God gave me that gift, but he definitely did. It’s just been my mindset always to go out there and play as hard as I can.”