BOSTON — When Neemias Queta was announced as a starter for the second straight game, this time against the Warriors on Wednesday, the news didn‘t come as a surprise. The big man was signed to a two-way deal just last season, but here he is starting for the defending champs as he’s earned those opportunities with his recent strong play.
Queta wasn’t perfect in his second-ever starting opportunity, but he certainly made loud impacts throughout the night. The big man finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in his 28 minutes, injecting energy in spurts. The Celtics still fell 118-112 to the Warriors at the end, but the Queta production continues to be a positive.
“He’s doing a good job just understanding tendencies,” C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought he’s doing a good job executing the coverages that we have. So he’s just getting better and better at understanding what the scheme is and kind of what the tendencies are and then just the situational basketball of making reads on the defensive end. So he’s definitely growing.”
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Queta represents a crucial edge the Celtics have over other teams in recent years: player development. It‘s not just Queta who’s an important member of the rotation — look at guys like Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and more. Those contributors are either homegrown players or developed their way to this point in their careers. And that‘s a big advantage as the C’s can find the right guys to not only fit their system but have years to incorporate them within that system.
Of course, other teams are also developing their guys in-house. But the Celtics are finding guys who can fit their ethos and play to their strengths. They also have the luxury of having two stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who can seemingly play with new guys around them. Those advantages add up.
In terms of another potential in-house product, look no further than Jordan Walsh. The 20-year-old has been another pleasant surprise this early in the season. While he spent most of last season up with the Maine Celtics in the G League, he‘s earned legit spot rotation minutes over the past several games. So while he doesn‘t fill up the stat sheet in his eight minutes against the Warriors, the potential is there. Walsh looks like he‘s already ahead-of-schedule considering where he’s at in his career, which is another bonus for the Celtics if he can continue to develop down the line.
Realistically, the C‘s will need to make significant changes to their roster down the line considering the expensive luxury tax penalties. Throw in that there will be an ownership change in the near future and the team‘s roster could look different relatively soon. But there is a path for the Celtics to stay competitive as contenders, and by improving the margins by developing your own guys, the organization can keep reloading around the stars. And thus far, they’ve done a solid job on those margins.
