At first, Luka Garza carved out a solid role with the Boston Celtics. He was scoring in the pick-and-roll, screening everywhere on offense, and shooting pretty well from distance. Then, he fell out of the rotation completely. But fast forward to now, and Garza has finally found his true place in the Celtics’ rotation.
Garza is capitalizing on his best trait, his offensive rebounding. It’s allowed him to play more minutes than he has all season, and Boston has taken advantage of his skill set. Shooters wait for him to roll before they get up their threes, and Garza acts like a vacuum under the rim at all times.
They’ve finally found a way to get the most out of Garza, and it has to be making the rest of the NBA wish that they took a chance on him.
Celtics getting the most out of Luka Garza
For a while, the Celtics were playing small-ball lineups, leaving Garza on the bench. He wasn’t even getting a few minutes when Neemias Queta sat down—he was completely out of the rotation.
Joe Mazzulla even turned to two-way rookie Amari Williams for a few games before going back to Garza. But then, something changed when the Celtics played the Toronto Raptors up north.
Garza got another chance to prove his worth, and he took that chance by the reins. He snagged nine offensive rebounds, which is tied for the second-most in a game all season.
Then, in the next game, Garza once again dominated the offensive glass. He put the Indiana Pacers in a torture chamber, drawing offensive fouls, grabbing boards, and earning Boston a ton of extra possessions.
And when the Pacers traveled to Indiana for their next game, he was just as impressive. He got to flash his scoring abilities, too, dropping 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting (including a three-pointer).
After falling out of the Celtics’ core group for a minute, Garza has reemerged with a vengeance. He’s been impacting winning at a very high level, and he’s found a perfect niche in Mazzulla’s rotation.
There’s no guarantee that Garza will remain in the rotation all season. Mazzulla has made it clear that the Celtics pride themselves on their depth, so perhaps there will be a stretch where Garza’s offensive rebounding isn’t needed.
But for the time being, it looks like the Celtics have found a way to maximize one of the guys they brought in over the summer (who’s only on a minimum contract).
This year has been all about getting the most out of everybody on the new-look roster, and the Celtics have done that perfectly with Garza.
Boston signed Garza to a minimum contract. Had they not, he may have been out of the league. Yet they've found a way to utilize him perfectly, and the rest of the league has to be kicking themselves for not seeing the same vision the Celtics did.