The Celtics lost a tough battle on Tuesday night, falling in San Antonio to the Spurs, 125-116. There were a lot of big takeaways from this one, including Jaylen Brown’s ridiculous ejection, another solid Jayson Tatum performance, and a Ron Harper Jr. breakout game.
Another one of the big things to come out of the game was that it was a rough matchup for Neemias Queta. Big Neemy has been one of the best and most consistent centers in the entire league this season, and has rightfully worked himself into the league’s Most Improved Player of the Year award conversation.
But the matchup with the Spurs proved to be a difficult one, as the Spurs have an alien at center in Victor Wembanyama. Wemby is a rare breed of big man who can truly pick defense apart with floor spacing and his three-point shooting, plus impact the game on the other end with high-impact rim protection.
Mazzulla didn't want Queta out there with Wemby
Joe Mazzulla quickly realized that Wemby was completely unbothered by Queta, basically ignoring him, roaming far off of him, and staying down low to protect the basket and take away driving lanes. Joe very quickly made the move to put Luka Garza in for Neemy and force Wemby to honor his three-point shooting.
The strategy proved to be effective as the Celtics were able to spread out the Spurs' defense and pull Wemby out to the perimeter. They were able to create good looks for most of the game by attacking the Defensive Player of the Year favorite and making him guard smaller, quicker players in space.Â
Boston spaced out the court and opened up driving lanes and open looks from three for most of the game, and for some spurts, especially before Brown was tossed, they had one of the NBA’s best defenses looking extremely vulnerable.
Until the last few minutes of the game, Mazzulla was essentially matching Wemby’s minutes with Garza’s, which worked well enough, but it was tough to see Queta, who has been one of the Celtics’ best and most reliable players this season, struggle and play just 19 minutes against an elite opponent.
Will Queta become a playoff liability?
It begs the question of how this will translate to the playoffs. Boston is going to be facing top-notch competition, great defenses, and coaches that are going to gameplan and scheme for every single game. Other teams have seen how the Spurs took advantage of Queta, and they will likely try to copy that model.
Now, that’s going to be easier said than done, as there is only one Wembanyama in the league. But there are plenty of teams that will try to have a defender sag off Queta and dare the Celtics to play 4 on 5, or find other creative ways to make life tough on Boston.
Luckily, they should have Nikola Vucevic back as yet another floor-spacing option as a big man. And against most matchups, they can always go small in stretches with a Tatum/Brown frontline. Hopefully, it won’t become a major issue, and Joe is smart enough, and Neemy is good enough for them to strategically turn this into an advantage of their own.
But it’s definitely something to consider as the team rounds into form, the playoffs approach, and the level of competition cranks up.