Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta enters the season with the exact mindset that fans should be hoping for. Queta shared that he expects the Celtics to “be competitive again” and pointed to Boston's personnel as the reason why during a recent interview with Abola.
“People have already started saying again that the other teams are the good ones and that we don’t have enough quality. But I think, with the group we have, the people we have in the locker room? And our coach?”
Ironically, the Cs are probably viewed as a more competitive side than they were at this time last season. The doubters walked away victorious after the disappointing first-round playof exit. They could spend the summer saying that they knew the Celtics were frauds the entire time.
It seems like Brad Stevens might’ve agreed. He clearly didn’t think the roster was good enough as constructed and wasn’t afraid to do something about it. The news that Boston had traded Jaylen Brown to the Sixers for Paul George and draft picks hit like a ton of bricks. It also opened the door for doubters to get to work again.
“How do the Celtics think they’ll be able to compete after this?”
It’s a fair question, honestly. Not only does losing Brown take some star power away from Boston, but it makes the team they just lost to even better. Not to mention that LeBron James followed JB to the City of Brotherly Love.
The reigning champion New York Knicks aren’t going anywhere. The Toronto Raptors are probably going to have Kawhi Leonard. The Indiana Pacers will add Tyrese Haliburton back this season, while the Miami Heat will look to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a fresh look at competitive hoops.
The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers will certainly remain in the mix, too.
There’s plenty for the Celtics to be excited about
Well, in the month since many have dived into the analytics and George’s potential fit with this Cs team. The diving team seems to like what they’re seeing there.
George isn’t the only new optimal addition for Boston. Hours before trading Brown, they locked down former New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson.
The Cs tallied the fifth-most second-chance points per game in the 2025-26 season. They’ve leaned heavily into winning the possession battle at every opportunity under Joe Mazzulla, and Robinson seems like a surefire bet to be the next shiny cog in the possession machine. Robinson led the league in offensive rebounding percentage last season and should elevate one of the Celtics’ greatest strengths to the next level.
Robinson, Queta, and Luka Garza make for a solid frontcourt in Boston.
Returning rotation players like Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman could be due for a leap, too. Both are early in their respective pro careers with plenty of room to continue growing. With the help of the Celtics’ notoriously effective player development staff, there’s real reason to believe that each player will be able to take on added responsibility this season.
Scheierman already showed that he’s willing to do what it takes to grow his skillset, and it paid off big time last year. By the end of the season, he’d won the bench battle and became a regular rotation player for the Cs. Gonzalez had moments, too, and is largely considered a blue-chip type prospect.
With training camp a little over a month away, there are so many different reasons to buy what Queta is selling. Times are exciting in Boston, even if the East is looking stronger this season.
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