It was the Boston Celtics’ first bucket of the game against the Toronto Raptors. Derrick White ran all over the floor just to get a mid-range pull-up. But the entire play that went into it was indicative of a relationship he’s worked all season to build—his on-court relationship with Neemias Queta.
The play began with White in the corner. Queta and Jordan Walsh set staggered screens to bring him up to the top of the floor, where he received a pass from Jaylen Brown. Ja’Kobe Walter got stuck behind the play because of the screens, freeing White up to drive to the basket.
That’s where Jakob Poeltl got stuck.
Neemias Queta developing elite pick-and-roll chemistry
Poeltl was in drop defense for most of the night. The Raptors want him around the basket to protect the rim. So, White and Queta took advantage of that.
Rather than driving all the way into his former San Antonio Spurs teammate, White got to just above the elbow, stopped on a dime, and dumped a pass back up to Queta, who was waiting at just above the other elbow.
By that point, the Celtics had the Raptors right where they wanted them. Walsh spaced to the corner, while Payton Pritchard was in the opposite corner, and Brown was on the wing next to him. That left White and Queta plenty of room to work.
White immediately chased after his pass, getting another screen from Queta, got around him, and pulled up from the mid-range.
Since Poeltl, who was matched up with Queta, had dropped all the way down into the paint to protect the basket on White’s initial drive, this left nobody on the Raptors available to help Walter.
Queta let go of the second screen a bit too early (and got an eye-poke from Walter because of it), but the play still generated an open look for White. That pick-and-roll chemistry has been a focal point of Boston’s since the start of the season.
“It's sweet, man. These guys know how to play,” Queta said back in October when asked about getting to run pick-and-roll with Boston’s stars. “They've been high-level players in this league for so long, and I'm trying to figure out how to play with them. Pretty easy. It's pretty easy to play with these guys like that.
“So, get them open and then play off of that. I think I can make them better with that stuff, and obviously, just got to keep on finding up the little tunes for each other and get better as a as a team.”
And for as excited as Queta was to play with White, Brown, and Pritchard, they had just as much faith in him to deliver.
“He's ready,” White said on October 21, one day before Opening Night. “I think he learned a lot these last two years. Obviously, had a lot of really good bigs here, so he kind of learned firsthand from them each and every day. And so, he's really excited for the opportunity, and we're all excited for him.
“Every day, I think, there's just more opportunity for us to get better and learn what works, what doesn't work, see how teams are guarding us. And he's a quick learner, and he wants to learn, so that's the good part.”
Neemias Queta is lifting the Celtics' new offense to awesome heights
Queta has run thousands of pick-and-rolls in his life. He’ll set a thousand more. But Boston’s offense has been much more than that this season.
Last year, the Celtics largely kept things simple: Set a pick, get a two-on-one, make a read from there. With Jayson Tatum, Brown, and the rest of their championship cast running the show, it was just that simple.
“In the past, we just had a lot of talent where, if we had the matchup we liked and got it, that's pretty much [it],” White said. “The play was over.”
Now, Boston’s offense has more depth. Stagger screens from the corner. Chest action leading into a drive-and-dump. Flare screens for Brown, White, or any shooter they choose. Fake flare screens into Sam Hauser cuts for easy dunks. Joe Mazzulla has gone deep into his bag of tricks.
“Now, it might not be there for the first action,” White said. “So, just trying to find that next one. How we can continue to use the whole shot clock to move the ball and get a good look every time down.”
But at the center of it all, there are always two commonalities: A ball-handler and a screener.
Luka Garza has gotten his chances this season. Josh Minott has excelled in small-ball lineups. Walsh, Hauser, and others are doing plenty of screening, too. But Queta has been the star of the show in that area of basketball.
He’s eighth in the NBA in screen assists per game (4.0) and sixth in points per game generated off screen assists (4.8).
The Celtics’ offense is different. And Queta is the gear that helps everything run smoothly.
“With time and repetition, I think we're getting so much closer and so much better at the stuff we're trying to accomplish, and we’re really on the right path,” Queta said.