Luka Garza just showed off new Celtics big man plans in debut

TORONTO — Luka Garza was the blur on Beale Street.

It was his first time repping the green and white. The Boston Celtics were visiting the Memphis Grizzlies for their preseason opener. And as soon as he stepped onto the court, he was a wrecking ball.

On his first-ever Celtics possession, he screened for Jaylen Brown off the ball, re-screened to give him space to pull up, and then dove to the rim for an offensive rebound that never came. Brown drained the triple. That was only the beginning.

By the second quarter, Garza was still a man possessed. At one point, he faked a screen for Derrick White at the top of the key and sprinted toward Brown in the corner. Brown ran away from him, and Garza turned back to White to get the ball.

White followed his own pass and took a screen from Garza, who then dashed to set another pick for Brown, who was wrapping up an off-ball action with Sam Hauser. After another Garza re-screen, Brown got an open middy while the big man once again tumbled toward the rim for a rebound opportunity.

No points, no rebounds, no assists for Garza on the play. But he made it happen. His screens made it happen. And he couldn’t have been more thrilled.

“As a big man who likes the ball, likes to score as well, there's no position I'd rather be in then be a part of the action in some way,” Garza told Hardwood Houdini. “Setting screens, getting guys open, having the ball, taking it to the other side, whatever it is. So, I want to be a part of the action, so it makes it easy.”

Luka Garza is ready to help lead new Celtics big man goals

Garza, who left the University of Iowa as its all-time leading scorer, has yet to find his footing at the NBA level. A quick coffee with the Detroit Pistons was followed by a three-year stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He never cracked 10 minutes per game there.

Boston provides new life. The departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet have opened up plenty of minutes, and Garza could be a big part of that puzzle.

And in a season where the Celtics will have to reshape and reevaluate their center room completely, they want their big men to be as involved as ever.

“I think this year, there's a lot more onus on the bigs being in the action a lot,” Garza said. “Creating action for others. And so, a lot of that has to do with screening and different kinds of screens.”

It’s an exhausting plan. “You got to be in great shape,” Garza said. “And I think, since I've been here, it's been like that. They've been trying to prepare us for that, and they understood it's a tough job. Especially defensively, you got to play defense, too. You got to be crashing the rebounds, doing all that, but then come down and be all in the action.”

But it’s one Garza is more than willing to attack head-on.

“You got to get in shape, but knowing that, there's a lot of opportunities you can create for yourself and others with that, it's kind of easy,” he said.

Pick-and-rolls run the NBA. On any given possession, a big man should be ready to help his ball-handler get open. For the Celtics, it’s shaping up to be much more involved than that.

Off-ball actions were prevalent throughout the course of the Memphis game. Corner pin-downs for Sam Hauser, flare screens away from the ball. Boston’s bigs were everywhere, and nobody embodied the beautiful bedlam more than Garza as the Celtics looked to keep the Grizzlies on their toes.

“If you give [other teams] the same look every time, it makes it easy for them to adjust and know what defenses to play, or whatever the case may be,” Garza said. “So, for me, it's all about trying to be creative with it, but to be aggressive with it as well, and just get guys open. And in turn, that kind of helps me get into good spots.”

And it’s all with the goal of setting up his teammates.

“I think the thing that's impressive about all these guys is just their ability to shoot off the screens,” said Garza. “I think Anfernee, Payton, JB, Derrick White, do that at a high level off ball screens, especially off high hooks and stuff like that.”

Since getting to Boston, Garza has worked tirelessly. He wants to know the ins and outs of what the Celtics hope to accomplish, and screening is a huge part of that.

Assistant coaches DJ MacLeay and Ross McMains have been crucial throughout his summer-long process.

“D-Mac. DJ. He's been working with me a lot,” Garza said. “Watching film, kind of understand the angles, and he's been on me about making sure that I'm intentional with every screen I set and trying to create an advantage without overextending or getting those cheap fouls that are turnovers. 

“And then obviously, Coach Ross, who's kind of been really honest about being those guys that are involved in the action a lot, and getting people open.”

But knowing where to be and when is only part of the equation. Any near-seven-footer can lumber up the court, find a ball-handler, and try to put his body to an opponent. The Celtics expect more.

They want to break screening down to a science. The timing of when each individual player wants a screen to be set. At what angle the pick-and-roll should be run in order to optimize the ensuing drive. When to roll and pop based on the coverage and who is running the offense.

That’s what this summer has been about for Garza. Anfernee Simons and Payton Pritchard have been in town over the summer. It’s given Garza time to learn. To enhance his understanding of his role in Celtics basketball.

“They're all different,” Garza said of his teammates tendencies. “They all come off at different paces and like to get into different things. So, just as a big man, you're kind of reading that, and making sure you put yourselves in a good position, don't get screening fouls, or whatever it is.”

Every screen is a ballet. His teammate is his partner, and even the most miniscule movement is enough to alter the course of the routine (or possession). That’s why Garza wants to know each of his partners like the back of his hand.

“It's almost like a scouting report,” Garza said. “Reading off each guy, what they like, and kind of asking them as well, and also just noticing within pick-up, or practice, or whatever it is, when you see that they like it a certain kind of way, and they go pull up that way, or whatever it is. 

“But there are definitely intentional conversations that we have just about- Especially with guys like Sam [Hauser], kind of looking, when you go to set those down screens, seeing past the on-ball and seeing, 'Okay, is the guy on his body already? Is he off the body? Is he separated? Okay, now I can set a pin-down, or whatever it is.' So, you just got to be able to read those things within the game.”

No player approaches screens the same. They don’t have to. Yet every big man, especially Celtics big men, need to understand every single approach.

And Garza is definitely getting to that point.

“I think D-White has a little bit of an interesting way that he kind of leads guys into the way he comes off ball screens,” Garza said. “So, I think with him, especially, I got to really time it up. And different guys like Anfernee, you just got to go get him and then let him work, because once he comes off and he gets to that jumper, it's pretty, and it's fun to watch.”

If the Memphis game (and weeks of training camp chatter) is any indication, the Celtics are going to play fast this year. Their offense was chaotic against the Grizzlies. An organized chaos.

Some were whizzing around the floor, others were cutting off the ball into open space, and corner crashers helped control the offensive glass off three-point attempts.

Garza was in the eye of the hurrican. And that’s exactly where he wants to be.