Luka Garza continues to make life difficult for Joe Mazzulla in playoffs

Just about everything went right for the Celtics in game one of their first-round playoff series with the 76ers, a dominant 123-91 victory. It seemed like everything Joe Mazzulla touched turned to gold, but there was one point of interest that has been a story bubbling up below the surface for months, and that’s the backup center situation.

Since Boston acquired Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline, it has been clear that he’s the guy behind Neemias Queta, but from everything we’ve actually seen on the court this season, Luka Garza is the better option for those minutes.

Through one playoff game, that continues to be the case. Vooch was still the first big man off the bench, but he came in very early thanks to quick foul trouble for Queta. Whether Garza was part of the original game plan or not remains a mystery, but when Vooch also picked up two quick fouls, we got some first-half Garza minutes in a playoff game.

And just as he has for most of the season, Garza delivered. On his first possession, he crashed the glass hard, gobbled up an offensive rebound, and drew a foul. Moments later, he punished the Sixers for playing zone with a quick-release three-pointer.

Garza has outplayed Vucevic every step of the way

With all the foul trouble and the blowout nature of this game, it’s hard to make any conclusive takeaways about the team’s rotations. But the early Vucevic minutes were uninspiring, while Garza quickly came in and made his presence felt.

Vooch rebounded to have a solid game, as did pretty much everyone who played, but if Mazzulla thought this situation was going to work itself out, so far, he’s dead wrong. Garza has not relented at all and keeps making the most of his limited opportunities. On a night where the team didn’t have its typical energy attacking the offensive glass, Garza pulled down 2 of the Celtics’ 5 o-boards for the game in just 14 minutes.

Backup center minutes remain the biggest question mark

That’s the kind of engagement the team needs from the backup center, and Luka plays with playoff intensity for every second he’s out there. He has his own issues with fouling and plenty of shortcomings on the defensive end, but Vooch has just been too inconsistent and borderline lethargic at times.

It’s not going to cost them in this series, but in future rounds in potential matchups against teams like the Knicks and Pistons, this is going to become a big deal. Hopefully, Joe is open to all options, and he’ll be quick to do what’s best for the team, but he won’t have long to decide.

Maybe Vooch is the best option. But it may just as well be Garza. Maybe it’s rolling all three centers, with both backups playing short stints. Maybe it’s just a combination of Jayson Tatum and Jordan Walsh playing as small-ball big men. At the end of the day, I’m going to give Joe the benefit of the doubt to figure this out, but on a team that doesn’t have many issues or question marks, this has the potential to become one.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow