The Celtics didn’t just patch a hole at center last season - they may have found the guy who can hold the whole thing together.
When Boston moved on from Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet last offseason, the questions came fast. Who was going to protect the rim?
Who was going to clean up the glass? Who was going to give the Celtics a real backline presence?
Neemias Queta answered those questions almost immediately, and he did it on both ends.
What makes Queta so valuable is the way he fits Boston’s defensive identity. He isn’t the switch-heavy, all-over-the-floor big Horford had been for years.
He’s a classic drop-coverage center, the kind who stays back when a screen comes, waits for the action to come to him, and uses size and timing to erase mistakes at the rim. In other words: a true anchor.
The numbers say the eye test was real. BBall Index groups big men into anchor bigs or mobile bigs based on whether they switch or play drop, and Queta landed fifth among NBA bigs in anchor defensive talent last season.
That metric blends rim protection, screener rim defense, and defensive rebounding. Only Victor Wembanyama, Rob Williams, Donovan Clingan, and Rudy Gobert finished ahead of him.
That’s rare air. Those are the kinds of names that sit at the top of any conversation about defensive centers, and Queta was right there with them in his first real run as part of an NBA rotation.
It’s easy to see why Boston is bullish on what comes next. Queta has a new contract, a full year of experience, and an offseason to keep sharpening his game. There’s a real sense that last season was only the beginning.
And if anyone still wants to treat it like a surprise, Queta’s path tells a different story. He fought his way from G League afterthought to starting center for the Celtics, and once he got his chance, he made it count.
He’s also been putting in work this summer with the Portuguese national team, while Boston added Mitchell Robinson as a legitimate partner in the middle. Robinson brings a little more switching ability, but he plays a similar style to Queta, giving the Celtics a center duo that can work together on both ends.
That pairing matters because Queta’s presence changes what everyone else can do. Boston has loaded up on perimeter defenders and doesn’t carry many weak links. That means ball handlers are going to have a hard time getting comfortable, and it lets Queta stay back, protect the paint, and rack up blocks and rebounds.
It also opens the door for Boston’s defenders to get aggressive. With a trusted rim protector behind them, they can gamble more, jump passing lanes, and create more steals, deflections, and transition chances. And if a gamble fails, opponents still have to deal with Queta waiting at the rim.
For the Celtics, that’s a pretty enticing setup. Queta looks like the man in the back, the one anchoring everything. And if his trajectory keeps pointing up, Boston’s defense could stay special for a long time.
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For a team trying to sort out what still travels when the games get tighter, that matters. Tatums ability to score and make plays going to the rim, paired with Pritchards efficiency in the same area, suggests Boston still has a foundation worth building on despite the early end to its run. The challenge now is turning that individual shot-making into something more complete the next time the Celtics get back into playoff pressure. [Read more 🡒]