Neemias Queta has been one of the biggest surprises of the young Boston Celtics season so far. After a relatively up-and-down preseason, it looked like he could be the odd man out in the Boston big-man rotation. But so far, he’s been their best backup option behind Al Horford.
On Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets, Joe Mazzulla gave Xavier Tillman the start, but after less than six minutes of action, he was done for the night. Queta stepped in as the primary backup for the rest of the night, and he was very impactful, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking three shots.
He earned some big praise after the game.
Al Horford is impressed with Neemias Queta
Horford, who has been mentoring Queta since he got to Boston prior to last season, paid the Portuguese big man a huge compliment.
“Yeah, I just think it's his mindset. I feel like Neemi is really committed to making sure that he's staying ready to play,” Horford said. “He's taking care of his body. He's doing all the little things that he has to do to put himself in a position to play and be available.
“And then when he gets on the floor, I feel like he has just one play a game that's just unbelievable. Probably nobody on our team can do some of the things that he can. So, that's always encouraging to see that there's that other level for him .
Meanwhile, Horford said that he’s constantly speaking with Queta about the ways he can improve on both sides of the court.
“For me, I just stay in his ear about him continuing to take his time offensively when he gets offensive rebounds and things like that,” Horford said. “And then on the defensive end, that's probably where I'm trying to challenge him the most, to continue to stay solid, and he's been doing a good job with that.
“And as long as he does that, he's going to be able to play. Because with our group, you have to be able to defend. You have to be able to defend at a high level. And we're asking him to do different things, and he's doing them. And it's not overwhelming, which is a good thing for him, and it's a really good thing for us in the long run, I think.”
Queta has been awesome for the Celtics so far this season, and Horford is helping him every step of the way.