The hype is starting to build for the new-look Celtics this season, and a big part of that is having 48 minutes of elite pick-and-roll centers between Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson. Neemy’s breakout last year was fun to watch, and it’s made even crazier when realizing that his two-man game with Boston’s main initiator, Jaylen Brown, was up there for the worst in the league.
Among the top 50 duos in total actions run in the 2025-26 regular season, the combo of Brown and Queta was sixth-worst in the NBA, averaging just 0.96 points per direct action in 486 opportunities. The only tandems that were less productive were Josh Giddey and Nikola Vucevic for the Bulls, Devin Booker and Mark Williams for the Suns, Reed Sheperd and Alperen Sengun for the Rockets, Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart for the Pistons, and Jrue Holiday and Donovan Clingan for the Trail Blazers.
Here are the least productive duos https://t.co/kbNGJNhlGv pic.twitter.com/VjxwO3L4IG
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That’s an absurd amount of possessions being wasted running a very inefficient offense, and it’s something the Celtics obviously noticed. Queta was a beast with his screening by most metrics and was one of the most efficient finishers around the rim, so it’s safe to say that a lot of this falls back on Brown.
Jaylen gets a lot of credit, and rightfully so, for his amazing tough shot-making, but relying on tough shots is far less than ideal. A big reason he’s so reliant on them is that he struggles to beat switches and mismatches and is far from an elite table-setter or decision-maker either.
Celtics seeking more productive pick-and-roll game this season
He compensates with a lot of contested shots in the midrange and around the rim. Again, considering the level of difficulty, he made them at an impressive rate, but that’s not sustainable for an offense that wants to be elite, and it clearly didn’t translate to the playoffs.
I’m not saying it was this one specific stat that drove the trade, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Brown was traded for a much more efficient and effective pick-and-roll ballhandler who’s a better shooter and less turnover-prone. They also rewarded Neemy with a new contract extension and signed another beastly screen-setting rim-runner in Mitchell Robinson.
It’s safe to say the Celtics didn’t think the bigs were the issue. They want to continue playing the way they did, but they want more productive initiators for these actions, and they’re hoping they’ll get that in the form of George, Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White.
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