Neemias Queta's abbreviated first playoff start highlights 76ers' nightmare

Boston -- The Philadelphia 76ers already have their hands full. They're without Joel Embiid, potentially for the series, due to an appendectomy. Tyrese Maxey is playing through a tendon injury in his right pinky. Since that diagnosis on Mar. 10, he finished the regular season shooting 31.6 percent from three-point range. He converted on 36.7 percent of those attempts for the 2025-26 campaign. At the time of year when his team needs him most, those struggles from behind the arc took a top-five scorer and dropped his output to just under 24 points per game.

On top of concerns about the state of the franchise, the 76ers must try to figure out how to slow down the most successful duo of their era, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. That didn't happen in the series opener.

Tatum opened Game 1 with a stat line only produced by two other players in the history of the NBA playoffs, per Celtics Stats. The six-time All-Star registered 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and 2 steals by the intermission. He finished with 25 points on 9/17 shooting [52.9 percent], 11 rebounds, seven assists, and those two thefts in 32 minutes.

Keeping his playing time in the low 30s was a win within the win for Boston. The hosts were able to do the same with Brown in their 123-91 victory. The former Finals MVP finished with 26 points, the most in the matchup. He knocked down 11 of the 21 shots he hoisted [52.4 percent]. He also grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists, and swiped two steals in 30 minutes of floor time.

Philadelphia will have to do better to have any hope in this series. However, it's what Neemias Queta did that should terrify the Sixers.

The 76ers' Neemias Queta nightmare

Boston's starting center dealt with foul trouble throughout the hosts' Game 1 win. That included picking up his fourth personal 1:35 into the third quarter, sending him to the bench.

However, when Queta was on the floor, Nick Nurse's team couldn't contain him. His screen setting and ability to create advantageous situations before getting behind the defense created havoc.

In his first-career playoff start, the Lisbon, Portugal, native matched Tatum and Brown for a Boston-best 10 points in the paint. He finished with 13 on 5/5 shooting.

It was far from his gaudy stat line during a career night against the 76ers during the regular season, when he generated 27 points and 10 offensive rebounds. However, the damage he can do, especially without Embiid available, remained evident.

The Celtics went to a Tatum-Queta pick-and-roll on their opening possession. That led to the latter putting Boston on the board at the free-throw line. The hosts went back to that action a few minutes later.

With the Sixers icing the pick-and-roll, forcing Tatum away from the screen, the star forward read the fifth-year center's well-timed slip to the basket, passed over the top of Andre Drummond and Paul George, and Queta skied for a full-extension, one-armed flush.

The Most Improved Player of the Year candidate also demonstrated his increased feel for making himself an available outlet, flashing from the dunker spot for a soft floater. And on the hosts' second possession of the third frame, Queta dislodged Maxey while screening for Derrick White. That forced Drummond to step up, setting up a pocket pass for a two-handed dunk.

Less than a minute later, the 26-year-old center was on the bench. Queta did not return until the fourth quarter. When he did, he quickly picked up where he left off, throwing down an alley-oop out of a Spain pick-and-roll, meaning a screen-the-screener action, where a player, usually a shooter, like Sam Hauser, sets a back screen for a teammate, who's traditionally a center, who is setting a pick for the ball handler.

At the other end of the floor, his ability to patrol the paint and protect the rim influenced the Sixers' shooting 15/27 [55.6 percent] in the restricted area and 14/31 [45.2 percent] in the paint. The former is below league average. The latter is barely above it.

Queta has become one of the better centers in the NBA

Even with foul trouble limiting him to 15 minutes, it was a performance that highlighted Queta's evolution from a fourth-string center to a top-10 player at his position.

"Just growth, just being big at the rim, protecting us, just managing getting the foul trouble, because we need him on the floor," said Jaylen Brown when asked for his assessment of Queta's Game 1 performance. "But you know, his first job is to protect the rim, and then we trust him when he makes those plays in the seam."

Queta's ability to punish the 76ers, just as he did in their last regular-season meeting, highlighted a concern that Philadelphia isn't well-equipped to handle. Going small could lead to one of the worst teams at limiting opponents' second-chance opportunities getting punished on the glass. Meanwhile, Drummond is a seal who Boston will repeatedly target in the pick-and-roll, pulling him from the rim. The Sixers' other option at the pivot is Adem Bona. He started Game 1 but didn't demonstrate much promise regarding slowing the primary source of Queta's scoring.

If the 76ers can't solve that problem, the more challenging chores, like trying to limit Tatum and Brown's impact, come with a greater margin for error. That's a terrifying proposition that seems too daunting for Philadelphia to work around in this series.

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