The Celtics decision to run it back with the majority of their 2023-24 roster has worked fine in many ways amid a 11-3 start to the year. With the return of Kristaps Porzingis looming next month, odds are that some of the team’s best basketball is still in front of them this season. One of the domino effects of Porzingis’ absence early in the year is Joe Mazzulla getting a chance to mix and match with his remaining big men.
Al Horford’s minute load has wisely been kept down (26.7 minutes) to a career-low, which has opened the door to new opportunities and situations for Boston’s reserve bigs. Neemias Queta has been a bit of surprise on that front as he earned his fourth start of the year during Saturday’s win against the Raptors.
Joe Mazzulla has opted to go bigger now when any player is out of the starting five as Queta has started in place of Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and now Jrue Holiday on Saturday night. The early returns have been particularly promising (Boston improved to 3-1 Saturday with Queta in the starting five), and it’s easy to see why Queta got some early opportunities as he was a +63 entering Saturday’s game.
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Queta’s chemistry with members of the starting five have been promising early on. Some of the two-man lineup combinations he’s in with that group makes up some of the best numbers on the roster entering Saturday night.
White/Queta: +29 net rating
Brown/Queta: +18.8 net rating
Tatum/Queta: +22 net rating
Holiday/Queta: +21 net rating
Holiday spoke this week about what has allowed Queta to fit in with the starters to this point.
“He can protect the rim, he can protect the paint, you could switch him 1 through 5,” Holiday said. “Guards like to go at him, but he’s such a big body and has so much length to be able to protect from the 3-point line, and then he’s quick enough to kind of meet you at the rim too. Neemi gives us versatility and is a really good defender.”
Queta’s rim protection though has started to show holes with additional playing time. The Raptors scored 76 points in their overtime loss Saturday to the Celtics despite Boston playing two bigs upfront in Queta and Horford. This comes after the Hawks scored 67 points in the paint on Tuesday night.
“I think overall just giving up too many layups,” Jaylen Brown said Saturday night. “I feel like our defense could be better. I feel like there was a shot way too easy shots in paint and that’s kind of been the theme, so we got to figure that out.”
Boston was an elite team defending the rim last year but now they have fallen to bottom-10 in the opening month of this season.
Queta is certainly providing a different element than the remainder of Boston’s bigs with his physicality and athleticism. Mazzulla putting him on the floor with Boston’s best defenders is also a wiser choice. Some of Queta’s mistakes can be covered up by the better defenders surrounding him and he is also reducing the wear and tear on Horford with his work on the glass. He’s a far better defensive rebounder and finisher than Luke Kornet. However, when the Celtics are getting beat off the ball by their man, Queta is left in a vulnerable position. He chases blocks sometimes, putting him out of position for rebounds and his defensive awareness still needs work.
With Porzingis set to return relatively soon, it remains to be seen how much more of Queta as a starter we will see. However, it’s fair to wonder now whether he is part of the solution or the problem to Boston’s paint defense woes.
