Celtics won't win title without major shift from what we've seen in 3 playoff games

I’ve tried very hard to give Nikola Vucevic a fair shot, and in a lot of ways, he has won me over. I’m not a blind hater. I see the things he does well, and I largely understand the logic behind giving him minutes. I know there’s a healthy, reasonable discussion to be had about his role, and how he should (or shouldn’t) fit into the team’s frontcourt that lost so much from a year ago.

But I have seen enough to say that the Celtics are not going to win a championship leaning on Vooch as their center. It’s just not going to happen. He’s too slow and too unathletic to hold up on the defensive end. It’s not a knock on him, it’s just a fact.

He played well enough on Friday night in Game 3 for the Celtics to get a win, and had some big moments on offense; there’s no doubt he helps the spacing and instills confidence when the ball is in his hands. And yes, Neemias Queta had a rough night and hasn’t looked like the Neemy from the regular season through three playoff games.

Vucevic's defense will sink Celtics

But this is not sustainable, especially when the competition picks up. The Celtics' defense mostly turned the water off for Philly in the fourth quarter, but the one way they found success was by attacking Vooch. They went at him again and again in pick-and-roll and generated good looks.

Either he overhelped and gave up easy dunks to Andre Drummond and Adem Bona, he was out of position and gave up offensive rebounds, or he was too slow to take away drives to the rim. Defending a high-level pick-and-roll is not what he's known for, and he was the very clear weak point in an otherwise impenetrable defense.

And again, this isn’t intended as a knock on Vucevic; he’s just not a good defensive player. Still, he earned those minutes, and Joe Mazzulla felt he was the best option. But that’s the problem.

Neemias Queta has to step up

Queta has to raise his game in a major way and make an impact in this series. He hasn’t been able to avoid foul trouble, he’s setting illegal screens left and right, balls are bouncing off his hands, and he has found himself out of position far too often. But Joe can’t give up on him, and for better or worse, he may just have to play his way through some struggles.

We know that Neemy can be a defensive anchor. We saw it all season. He was also a great screener and rim-runner. That player is in there. He didn’t suddenly forget how to play. Maybe the moment is getting to him, but it’s certainly not like the matchup with Andre Drummond and Adem Bona should be an issue.

The Celtics can (and should) try some minutes with Jayson Tatum at the five. They could also look to give Luka Garza more run. Maybe they can scratch and claw their way through a series or two with heavy minutes for Vooch.

But, let’s just be real: 30 minutes of Vucevic and 12 of Queta is not a recipe for success when the Celtics face teams like the Knicks, Pistons, or eventually the Thunder. Straight up, they need Queta to be a lot better. He was one of the biggest reasons for their regular-season success, and it has to hold up in the playoffs.

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