The debate about who the Boston Celtics should play as their backup center between Nikola Vucevic or Luka Garza has more or less turned into the new Team Edward vs. Team Jacob debate (though who knows if kids will get that reference these days). Mazzulla has continued to roll with Vucevic, despite many begging him to play Garza. That's primarily because Boston plays better when Vucevic is on the floor.
There is a fair case for Garza to get minutes. In fact, he even got them yesterday with Vucevic and Neemias Queta in foul trouble. And he did... okay? Vucevic didn't have the best statline, but what was telling was that he finished with a plus/minus of plus-13 while Garza finished with plus-five.
It goes deeper than that, though. Barstool Sports' Dan Greenberg pointed out that Boston's net rating was plus-40.6 with Vucevic on the floor. He also added how good their rim defense and floor spacing were when Vucevic was on the court.
The fumbled wide open dunk wasn't ideal, but overall I thought Vuc was more than fine in his minutes
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) April 20, 2026
Sixers also shot just 58% at the rim while he was on the floor, Celts offense shot 42% from deep while he was on the floor, was solid enough on the glass etc pic.twitter.com/KJaUvpi84B
This has been a trend for some time now. Vucevic may not be putting up gaudy numbers, but when Boston inserts him into the game, they tend to go on a run. At some point, that's not a coincidence, so why would Mazzulla mess with what's working?
There's an argument that Garza could put up better numbers, but it's becoming clearer how much better off the Celtics are when Vucevic is on the floor.
Celtics want guys who make them better, not guys who put up numbers
Boston wouldn't be in bad hands with Garza as their backup five at all. It's just clear that they believe Vucevic is the better option. There are times where that looks like a poor decision.
IS VUC SERIOUS LMAOOO? pic.twitter.com/5YcARGAJDW
— jb (@lockedupjb) April 19, 2026
Even so, that shouldn't overshadow that the Celtics started pulling away from the 76ers once Vucevic was put into the game. It's somewhat similar to when Al Horford drew a lot of criticism when he first joined the Celtics 10 years ago.
Horford was not putting up fantastic numbers for someone who was being paid on a max contract, which led to the downright idiotic "Average Al" narrative. In fact, he wasn't even putting up the numbers he was on the Hawks.
And yet, not only did the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference Finals, but Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder all posted their best individual stats, which they never matched again for the rest of their careers. No, it wasn't a coincidence that it happened in the lone year they played with Horford.
That's what Horford was supposed to do: make the team better, not put up surly numbers. Vucevic is doing the same thing. Once he doesn't, Garza should get the nod, but because this trend has only continued since Vucevic's return from injury, it's likely he'll only be called upon in situations like the one Boston dealt with yesterday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google