Through highs and lows, 1 thing is clear about Neemias Queta

The Boston Celtics have had plenty of trick-or-treat players in the 21st century. There's Tony Allen, Jeff Green, and if we're being completely honest here, Marcus Smart in his earlier days. It's not every day that a center fits the umbrella of trick or treat, and yet here we are with Neemias Queta.

Not too long ago. Queta was billed as perhaps the Celtics "(backup) center of the future" following his performances against the Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets, among other teams. His play was so exciting that he was getting compared to a recently departed Celtic - Robert Williams.

But after disastrous performances against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards, when Queta's name came up, the immediate thought when he subbed in was, "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Since then, following Joe Mazzulla's prompt benching in their next game over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Queta has looked reasonably better, though the hype is not at the peak it once was. At the same time, not all hope is lost.

Alright, the hype was blown out of proportion, but it's fair to say that the criticism after his lackluster play was similarly blown out of proportion. The Celtics still clearly think Queta is good enough to warrant actual playing time. So, there's one conclusion to draw from all of this.

Neemias Queta is clearly a situational big

But wait- We kind of already knew that...

Since the Celtics re-signed Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman (and Queta), the Portuguese big man has always been expected to play in specific situations. He has somewhat exceeded those expectations because he's played in nearly every game. Mazzulla has regularly given him the nod over Celtics playoff hero Xavier Tillman.

Even though Queta has ridden the pine now and again, Mazzulla has often turned to him to fill the void when the Celtics go into a game undermanned. More often than not, he does his part to keep them afloat, but it hasn't been a pretty sight when he's not on his A-game.

Indeed, Mazzulla doesn't necessarily have complete trust in the Portuguese center—there's a reason he didn't play a minute in the Celtics' matchup against the Cavaliers—but he's proven enough to stay out of the doghouse.

With about one-fourth of the season in the books, there's been more good than bad from Queta. Even if he's only a situational big, he's a good one to have. At the same time, the bad times have been bad enough that it's clear expectations need to be tempered to some degree.

Queta is not the reincarnation of Robert Williams III, but luckily, the Celtics are only asking him to be the best version of Neemias Queta. If this is the best version, Boston's lucky to have him.