The Boston Celtics secured their 52nd win of the season with a 133-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, April 3.
During the game, Neemias Queta recorded the 1,000th rebound of his young career. When speaking to the media after the game, Queta quickly set his eyes on reaching the 10,000 mark as quickly as possible.
“It’s becoming second nature for me,” Queta told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin. “G
Coming into the season, the rebounding was viewed as a potential weak point for the Celtics. Joe Mazzulla even took some drastic measures, regularly pulling guys off the floor for missing their defensive rebounding assignments over the opening stretch of games.
However, Boston is now one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA. It ranks 7th in the league for defensive rebounding, 7th for offensive rebounding and 4th in overall team rebounding.
Queta has played a big part in Boston’s emergence as a solid rebounding unit. Of course, the return of Jayson Tatum has also been a major plus in that regard, too.
Celtics’ Queta Has Proven Himself This Season
Before the season began, there were concerns as to whether Queta would prove himself as a starting-level big man in the NBA. Previously, he’d been Boston’s fourth-string big man, sitting behind Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet.
Furthermore, Queta had spent considerable time in the G League, representing multiple teams. So, being thrust into a starting role for a team that won a championship just 18 months earlier, can’t have been easy.
Fortunately for the Celtics, Queta has improved game after game. He’s no longer a walking foul machine; his finishing around the rim has improved (up to 75% on the highest shot volume of his career).
Just as importantly, his screening, understanding of timing in the screen, and impact as a roll man have all contributed to his value on the perimeter.
Celtics’ Have A Solid Cener Rotation
It’s not just Queta who has proven himself to be better-than-expected this season. Luka Garza has also shone in a larger role than he’s previously been afforded. Garza joined the Celtics during three-agency, after three difficult years on the Minnesota Timberwolves bench.
With a larger role, Garza has proven himself to be an elite screener, reliable floor-spacing five and troublesome offensive rebounder. When pairing Garza and Queta together, Boston has a best-of-both-world big-man rotation. Most importantly, neither big is breaking the bank from a contract standpoint.
Of course, the Celtics also added Nikola Vucevic to the roster at the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Vucevic brings veteran know-how, high-level post passing, floor spacing and rebounding.
However, it will be interesting to see if the Celtics look to keep him around beyond the current season. After all, there’s significant crossover between Vucevic and Garza. Furthermore, rookie Amari Williams will also need some playing time if he’s going to develop his game.
Boston’s big man rotation was seen as the weakest point at the start of the season. Now, it’s a reliable unit. Queta’s growth has been a large part of that development. If he conitnues to have a starting role, 10,000 rebounds is an acheiveable goal throughout his career.
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