In his first game at EuroBasket, Neemias Queta looked incredible. He put up 23 points and 18 rebounds in Portugal’s win over Czechia, which marked the country’s first victory in the competition in 18 years. Since then, Queta and Portugal have squared off against two more teams, Serbia and Turkey, but the same success hasn’t followed.
Portugal lost 80-69 to Nikola Jokic’s Serbia squad, and Queta only managed six points, two rebounds, and two assists on 2-of-5 shooting. And unfortunately for Queta, Portugal’s luck didn’t get much better the next day, as on Saturday, they lost to Alperen Sengun and Turkey by a score of 95-54.
Queta put up 15 points, seven rebounds, and one assist on 4-of-8 shooting, but Jokic and Sengun both got the best of him.
What does Neemias Queta need to work on?
Jokic had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists, while Sengun ended Turkey’s rout of Portugal with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Obviously, the two losses aren’t the fault of Queta alone. Both teams that Portugal fell to have multiple NBA-caliber players on the roster. Outside of Jokic, Serbia has Nikola Jovic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Tristan Vuckevic, and alongside Sengun, Turkey has been rolling out Adem Bona, Shane Larkin, Cedi Osman, Omer Yurtseven, Furkan Korkmaz, and Onurlap Bitim.
All of those guys have some level of NBA experience (or close to it), and nobody on Portugal’s roster outside of Queta can say the same.
Still, heading into next season with the Celtics, Queta is staring down a massive opportunity, and there are plenty of areas of the game he still needs to work on.
Stamina and positioning are toward the top of the list for Queta. Running up and down the floor as much as he’ll be required to quill undoubtedly takes a toll on a guy who isn’t used to playing heavy minutes. On top of that, Queta’s positioning on both sides of the ball has gotten the Celtics in trouble, and that can’t happen if he’s playing 25-30 minutes a night. His finishing around the rim and tendency to get in foul trouble have to get better, too.
That said, Queta has certainly shown some very positive flashes through his first few games of EuroBasket. His vision from the post has looked solid, and his confidence around the rim is in form.
With Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard next to him, Queta won’t have to overdo things in order to make a big-time impact. All he has to do is run the pick-and-roll well, stay out of foul trouble, and play stand-up defense around the rim.
And considering he’s projected to be Boston’s starting five next year, all of those necessities are more important than ever.