The Boston Celtics knew what they were getting into when they traded for Nikola Vucevic. They had just acquired one of the league's most well-rounded offensive centers, whose Achilles heel was his defensive shortcomings. The move was to shore up their frontcourt depth, but unfortunately, his addition to the team meant Luka Garza was firmly out of the rotation.
Okay, everyone pretty much knew that from Day 1 that with Vucevic and Neemias Queta, there was little need for someone like Garza to get consistent minutes going forward, which was a shame because of how impressive Garza had been in Boston before the Vucevic trade went down.
But the Celtics' game against the Philadelphia 76ers last night only further cemented Garza's place in the doghouse. Not too long after subbing in for Queta in the first quarter, Vucevic drew two early fouls, giving Garza the perfect opportunity to give Queta a few minutes of rest, but instead, Queta was subbed back into the game, and the Celtics' center rotation remained the same.
Granted, Queta just had his best game as a pro, so it's not like Joe Mazzulla made the wrong move, but he also signaled that Garza's legitimate rotation minutes were a thing of the past.
Will Garza get another chance?
It really is sad that incorporating Vucevic has come at the cost of excluding Garza entirely, even if any coach in Mazzulla's shoes would make the same move without thinking twice. It wasn't pretty at first, but Garza proved he was certainly a better option than Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman.
Even with what he's shown, Boston will keep depending on Vucevic from here on out because, warts and all, opponents fear him more than they fear Garza. It's not like the two-time All-Star has consistently lit up the box score as he did in Orlando and Chicago, but the Celtics aren't asking him to, and he's proven he's got plenty of good basketball left in his game.
That makes it hard to see Garza getting consistent minutes in Boston. However, one way he can is if the Celtics put Vucevic on the same plan they used with Horford over his last three years with the team, i.e., rest him on back-to-backs. It's not the same situation, as Vucevic, should he stay, will be their back-up center, which Horford wasn't until Kristaps Porzingis came to town.
This isn't fair to Garza, but nothing can be done
Garza's being forced out, not because of a lack of talent or because he can't fit in. He's only in this predicament because there simply isn't enough room for him after rightfully earning his role.
The problem is that, when compared to Vucevic, Garza doesn't strike fear into opponents as the former does. Even if Vucevic isn't putting up 20/10 a night like he used to, teams still take him seriously because they know how dangerous he can be when he goes off. In short, if Garza goes off for a Celtics win, their opponent will say something like, "It just wasn't our night."
Let's be frank: in instances like those, they don't say the same thing about Vucevic.
With the results speaking for themselves since the trade deadline, no one should question Brad Stevens thinking when he brought in the offensively savvy center, but everyone should hope that this doesn't put an end to Garza's career after finally catching his big break.