Neemias Queta enters the opening night rivalry clash against the Philadelphia 76ers as the Boston Celtics' starting center. He pushed himself to the limit this offseason to maximize the chance to join the first unit.
Some of his best work came at EuroBasket, where he honed his craft against some of basketball's most skilled centers: Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun, and Kristaps Porzingis. Another aspect of his most important preparation required waiting to return to the Auerbach Center.
A synergy existed between Boston's primary ball handlers and last season's top-three centers, Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet. That trio knew where and when to screen for the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White. There was an impeccable sense of timing to how they operated in concert with each other.
The learning curve on that front is steeper for new arrivals, Luka Garza and Chris Boucher. However, Neemias Queta also hasn't logged a ton of live reps with the Celtics' primary ball handlers to lean on.
Cultivating that pick-and-roll chemistry is paramount, but it's a process that will require patience.
Queta and White are excited by their growth together
Derrick White spoke with Hardwood Houdini at training camp about developing the synergy he had with past pick-and-roll partners as he is now cultivating with his new ones.
"It's been good. Trying to, every day, add a little bit more, see the read, see how we can take it to the next level each and every day," said White. "So, it's been fun, challenging one another, and just getting to know them, playing more with them, and just figuring more and more out."
As White continues to get more comfortable with a group he doesn't have much history of live reps with, an excited Queta discussed the strides they're making as pick-and-roll partners.
During training camp, I spoke with Derrick White about developing chemistry with Neemias Queta and the Celtics’ new bigs in the pick-and-roll.
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) October 21, 2025
Today, I asked Queta about him and White building on that synergy this offseason.
“Derrick’s one of the best guards in the league. He… https://t.co/zhJ3QQM0xo pic.twitter.com/qSbxe7oxr2
"Derrick's one of the best players, the best guards in the league," Queta told Hardwood Houdini after the Celtics' final practice before opening night against the Sixers. "He knows how to manipulate the defense on the pick-and-roll. And if I set good screens with him, I can pretty much live off of his dimes, off of his misses, offensive rebounding, and stuff. So, it's been great. It's been great to work with him and learn from him. So, I'm just excited for this year cause I think we're only gonna get better as the year gets along."