Joe Mazzulla has high praise for the Neemias Queta after impressive night

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics gave their regular rotation players the night off on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors. Outside of the fourth quarter, where things got rocky, the Celtics blew the doors off of the competition. It was an ugly night for Scottie Barnes and the Raptors’ rotation guys but a solid one for Neemias Queta, among others.

With Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman on the sideline (in addition to Al Horford, who appeared in his first and only preseason game on Tuesday), Queta was thrust into the starting lineup. Though he didn’t score the ball particularly efficiently, the rest of his game looked impressive.

And Joe Mazzulla has some kind words after the game.

Joe Mazzulla is enjoying Neemias Queta's development

While speaking with reporters post-game, Mazzulla complimented Queta’s growth and development since joining the Celtics last offseason.

“These guys, it's tough for them because they got to play different roles every night or throughout a season,” Mazzulla said. “But Neemy's defensive awareness and execution has grown, and his offensive effectiveness, his screening, his spacing. So, he's another guy that takes his role serious, and it's fun to watch him.”

Queta filled up the stat sheet on Sunday night. He finished the game with 12 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and one block.

Payton Pritchard’s monster first helped Queta earn a nice boost. He was setting screens for the Celtics guard as the two passed the ball back and forth around the pick. As Jakob Poeltl continuously sank back in the paint, Queta was able to rack up some easy assists to Pritchard.

The Portuguese big man’s presence in the paint led to a massive rebounding total, though it was a bit inflated by his struggles finishing around the rim. Six of his 15 boards came on the offensive end, and a chunk of them were earned off of his own misses. It’s certainly an area of his game that Queta needs to work on.

Other than that, however, he proved to be a positive presence down low for Boston on Sunday. And perhaps the most impressive part of his night was the fact that he only recorded one foul.

If Queta can consistently stay out of foul trouble, it would completely alter the course of his NBA career. Combine that with improved positioning, and the Celtics have a quality backup center on their hands.

Mazzulla is happy with the progress he’s seen, and based on Sunday’s performance, Queta should make a real bid for semi-regular minutes this season.