Neemias Queta

Celtics Notes: Pritchard, Queta, White, Brown, Tillman

After a subpar performance in Saturday’s loss at Minnesota, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard was thankful to have a chance to redeem himself the next day, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Pritchard responded with one of his best shooting nights of the season, finishing with 42 points while connecting at 15-of-22 from the field and sinking six three-pointers in a victory at Cleveland.

“I just wanted to come out tonight after a disappointing night before and kind of redeem myself and help the team win,” he said. “Hopefully I can continue this and catch a rhythm. I’m not saying every night’s going to be scoring, but be efficient and help the team win.”

Pritchard carried the offense despite being in foul trouble for much of the game. He made an early statement by drilling his first three-pointer nine seconds into the contest, then contributed 15 points in the fourth quarter as Boston held off a late Cavaliers rally. He helped to secure the 117-115 victory with a pair of late free throws.

“I’m a competitor and sitting in my room last night and this morning, you can either fold and give into it,” Pritchard told reporters before the game. “But for me, today I’m going to come out and give everything I’ve got and not second guess anything. I’m going to treat it like it’s a summer day in the gym, just me.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

  • Neemias Queta and Derrick White were both given the night off to recover from injuries with Boston playing the second game of a back-to-back and entering a busy part of its schedule, Washburn states in a separate story. Queta has a sprained left ankle, and White is dealing with a right calf contusion. The Celtics have games Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and coach Joe Mazzulla indicated that more rotation players could be rested during that stretch. “I think that’s where we talk about playing everybody comes into play and, you know, just relying on the depth of those, especially the young guys,” he said. “So that’s why I think it’s important everyone comes into the game ready to impact. And so that’s the case (Sunday). I think it will be over the next week or so, and points in time throughout the season. So trying to make that a strength of ours, just, you know, by the guys that we have available.”
  • Jaylen Brown has been frustrated by a lack of free throw attempts, Washburn adds. Brown entered Sunday’s game eighth in the league in scoring at 28.8 PPG, but he was 27th in free throw rate at 6.3 per night. Mazzulla said he supports Brown’s position, but won’t be submitting tape to the league to show examples of non-calls.
  • With Queta unavailable, Xavier Tillman delivered nine points, six rebounds, three steals and a block in his first start of the season, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. It was a rare appearance for Tillman, who had only played one five-minute stint during the previous 11 games. “X is the ultimate professional,” Mazzulla said. “Whether he plays every game or he misses 10 games, I have a level of trust that he’s going to go out there and he’s going to execute and he’s going to do exactly what we want. That’s really hard to do in this league. You can’t take a guy like that for granted. He works. He’s always ready.”

Atlantic Notes: Queta, Ingram, George, Sixers

Celtics starting center Neemias Queta will sit out for the first time this season on Wednesday when the team faces the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, Brian Robb of MassLive.com reports. Queta suffered a sprained left ankle in Sunday’s win over the Magic and did not practice on Tuesday.

Queta is averaging a career-high 9.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and the Celtics are a far superior defensive team with him on the floor this year, Robb notes. Boston has allowed 25.7 fewer points per 100 possessions during his 402 minutes on the court.

Boston will have to rely on Xavier Tillman, Chris Boucher and Luka Garza at the center spot in his absence. Queta’s three-year, $7.2MM contract is only partially guaranteed for next season, but he has significantly outplayed that deal so far this season.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Brandon Ingram kept shooting and the Raptors kept on winning. Ingram took 30 field goal attempts while scoring 37 points in an 11-point win over Cleveland on Monday. Toronto stretched its winning streak to eight games. “He’s a player, especially when he gets going, we as a team recognize that. We need that,” coach Darko Rajaković said, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “It’s good for us. At the same time, we’ve got to stay inside our principles and make good decisions, play with ball movement, finding him through that style of play as well.”
  • Paul George sat out Tuesday’s game against the Magic after he experienced ankle soreness, coach Nick Nurse told the media, including The Athletic’s Tony Jones (Twitter link). George had originally been listed as probable. Nurse isn’t sure if the veteran forward will miss more than one game. He has played three games this month after returning from offseason knee surgery.
  • On a related topic, Jones examines whether the Sixers have enough depth to overcome injuries. He concludes they don’t have enough quality bodies to compete, relative to the East’s top teams, who have dealt with their own injury issues. “Yeah, we have to do the best that we can,” Nurse said. “We have to plug in who we can plug in, and we have to do what we need to do. We have to start who’s next in line and figure out the matchups. We have to make decisions. Some of them work and some don’t. The ones that don’t work, we have to change them. We have our discussions, and we have to try and do what’s best for the group.”

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Markkanen, Banchero, Donaldson, Queta

Rival executives have frequently mentioned Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen as an ideal trade target for the Pistons, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who suggests that there are a number of reasons why Markkanen and Detroit would be a logical match.

As Fischer writes, the Pistons explored the market for floor-spacing big men over the summer, with Naz Reid, Myles Turner, and Santi Aldama among the players they considered pursuing at the time. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff also coached Markkanen in Cleveland. And Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon wanted to go after Markkanen in restricted free agency in 2021 when he was working under David Griffin in New Orleans’ front office, sources tell Fischer.

Still, as Fischer points out, Langdon has projected patience both publicly and privately, so it would come as a bit of a surprise if his front office looks to make a massive in-season move on the trade market. Fischer also hears that the Jazz would likely seek Ausar Thompson in any deal involving Markkanen and says the Pistons have no interest in moving the promising third-year wing. Sources tell The Stein Line that Utah considered trading up for Thompson during the 2023 draft.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • The Magic have ruled out Paolo Banchero (left groin strain) for a seventh straight game on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, tweets Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, but the star forward believes his return isn’t far off. “I think I’m in a good spot, just doing some movement stuff,” Banchero told Beede prior to Sunday’s loss in Boston. “The groin feels really good so the recovery’s been going well. … I’m definitely, pretty close. I don’t know when but definitely feeling close.”
  • The WNBA’s Portland Fire have hired Brittni Donaldson as an assistant coach and assistant general manager, as Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report relays (via Twitter). Donaldson, who spent two seasons on Quin Snyder‘s coaching staff as an assistant from 2023-25, took on a front office role this fall entering her third year with the Hawks. Her title was director of basketball development, methodology, and integration.
  • While it might be an overstatement to say that Neemias Queta is the Celtics‘ most irreplaceable player, it’s not entirely outrageous, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Queta has been Boston’s starting center for all 17 games so far this season and the team has outscored opponents by 16.4 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. When he’s not playing, the Celtics are being outscored by 4.6 points per 100 possessions. After Queta left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, Forsberg examines the Celtics’ options in the event the 26-year-old has to miss time.

Celtics Notes: Mazzulla, Queta, Gonzalez, Kalkbrenner

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has gotten used to contending for championships, so he wasn’t exactly eager to have a roster filled with unproven players, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. His team may be overachieving somewhat with a 6-7 start, but Mazzulla calls it more of a “fulfillment” than an “enjoyment.”

“I don’t enjoy being in the position that we’re in and I don’t enjoy some of that, but I’m fulfilled because at the end of the day we know where we are and we know what we’re trying to get to,” he said. “And we’re doing it with a group of guys that have a competitive care factor that can pay dividends in the long term.”

Boston was already heading toward a roster overhaul because of second apron restrictions, but the process was sped up by Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles tear in the playoffs. Four rotation members of the 2024 title team were lost during the summer, and Mazzulla is now trying to maximize young players, several of whom weren’t able to succeed elsewhere. There have been a few bright spots such as Josh Minott, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez, and the team is taking on the competitive attitude of its head coach.

“We haven’t played perfect but there has been a care factor to the process of ‘I’ve got to get this right, I’ve got to get this detail right. I have to execute. I have to understand my role. I’ve got to execute it every single night,’” Mazzulla said. “Those things have come easy to guys because of their work ethic.”

There’s more from Boston:

  • Neemias Queta has gotten plenty of advice from Tatum as he’s taken over as the team’s starting center, according to Brian Robb of MassLive. Queta has adjusted to the role and currently ranks 12th in the NBA in plus/minus. “Yeah, he’s been on me from the moment I got here in Boston, and we’ve been able to build that relationship,” Queta said of Tatum. “He’s always trying to help me figure out why I could do better, figure out how I can get my teammates open, and just trying to be a kind of coach, so to speak, as he can’t play right now. But I feel like he’s been one of the most vocal guys, and he’s always trying to lead us away the way he can see.”
  • Gonzalez has played so well to start the season that a G League assignment doesn’t seem to be under consideration, Robb adds in a separate story. The 19-year-old has appeared in 11 of the team’s first 13 games and is averaging 12.4 minutes per night. “I haven’t thought about that, no,” Mazzulla responded when asked about the possibility of Gonzalez spending time with the Maine Celtics. “He just came into the season with an open mind through training camp and preseason, and I think he showed and proved, one through his work ethic, his maturity, but really his defensive instincts, that he could play at this level. And so I think that’s more valuable than anything at this particular time. We’ll assess it as it goes on but he’s proven he can play and can impact winning. He’s got to get better at continuing to do that.”
  • Boston traded away the pick that the Hornets used to select Ryan Kalkbrenner, but there’s no guarantee the Celtics would have taken him if they had stayed at No. 32, Robb states in a mailbag column. He points out that it’s too early to make a definite judgment on Kalkbrenner, an early standout, and the benefits they got in the deal — four extra second-round picks, one of which was used to unload Georges Niang‘s salary — make it worthwhile.

Celtics Notes: Harper, Simons, Queta, Rotation

Ron Harper Jr.‘s path to landing a two-way contract with the Celtics began at last year’s training camp, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. After being waived last fall, Harper played for Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine until the Pistons offered him a two-way opportunity in January. He became a free agent again this summer and was happy to learn that the Celtics were interested in a reunion.

“As soon as my stint was over with Detroit, I was gathering options and my agent mentioned Boston really would love to have me back,” Harper said. “In the back of my mind it was just like, last training camp I was really grateful because I learned a lot of things. They were coming off an NBA championship, so just being in here, being around the program, just to being able to see and being able to learn things. So I feel like that was a big part of me getting a two-way in Detroit, of me getting that opportunity. And then when the opportunity came to come back, it was something I jumped on very quick.”

Harper signed a training camp deal in September and made a strong impression during the preseason. He’s expected to split his time between the NBA team and the G League club, and he hopes to prove he’s worthy of a long-term future in Boston.

“They emphasized to me that my decision-making, with the ball in my hands, being primary, secondary ball-handler and just being able to defend and hit threes,” Harper said. “So just being able to perfect all of those things, it’ll carve out my role perfectly.”

There’s more from Boston:

  • Anfernee Simons was a proven scorer in Portland, but he understands that he needs to improve his defense and find ways to contribute to winning with the Celtics “no matter what that looks like,” per Jay King of The Athletic. Simons is encountering a different style of coaching with Joe Mazzulla, who has constantly challenged him since training camp began. “I knew that I was going to get pushed in ways I’ve never been pushed and maybe play a different way that I’ve never played in my career, where I was always the guy making every single play, and it was always dependent on me, especially the last couple years,” Simons said. “And, so, now we got a whole bunch of veteran players that know how to play and know how to move the ball and know how to just play basketball a little bit more. And, so, that’s what I was excited about — being a part of that.”
  • The loss of several frontcourt players for financial reasons opened the door for Neemias Queta to become the starting center, notes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Celtics want Queta to handle the basics of protecting the rim, rebounding and staying out of foul trouble, and he has filled that role during the preseason. “We’re going to be hard on Neemi and I’m really looking forward to coaching him throughout the year,” Mazzulla said. “But as I told him, this is what you worked your whole life for, a chance to start for the Celtics, and you see this with players when they step into different phases of their career. It’s easy to be the rookie, kind of easy to be the fourth-string big, and then it’s kind of easy to be the backup. And now you have to develop a mindset to deliver every night, and I think he has that.”
  • Mazzulla may use a 10- or 11-man rotation for most of the season, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Robb believes Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman, Chris Boucher and Josh Minott have all shown they’re capable of playing, so Mazzulla may mix and match his big men to find the right combinations.

Celtics Notes: Simons, Queta, White, Scheierman

The Celtics have taken care of much of the business they were expected to address this summer, including trading Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in cost-saving moves, then re-routing Georges Niang to Utah for similar reasons. The one question mark left is Anfernee Simons, who was acquired in the Holiday trade with the Blazers, but Simons’ situation likely won’t have an imminent resolution, according to Brian Robb of Mass Live.

As Robb writes, in addition to being a talented player capable of picking up some of the scoring load for the Celtics with Jayson Tatum out for the year, Simons also remains their one major trade chip outside of the core players of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard.

Because of that, it’s unlikely the Celtics will rush into a deal involving Simons, in Robb’s view. If the time comes to move him, it will likely be in a trade that helps the team’s long-term plans of returning to title contention once Tatum recovers from his Achilles injury.

We have more from the Celtics:

  • Another lingering question for Boston is who will win the battle for the starting center role. The Celtics currently have Neemias Queta, Chris Boucher, Luka Garza, and Xavier Tillman Sr. on their roster, none of whom have an established track record as a starter. Robb speculates that Queta will have pole position due to his combination of rim protection and rebounding, though he says the window is open for someone like Boucher to beat him out in training camp. Robb also notes that health will likely play a big part in determining Tillman’s role, as the former Spartan big man has dealt with knee problems over the last two years that have limited his contributions.
  • With Tatum out, White will be counted on to carry a much larger offensive load than the role he’s become accustomed to in Boston. Chris Forsberg and the NBC Sports Boston Staff discuss what they hope to see from White this season, ranging from increasing the volume of his scoring output and achieving his first 20-point-per-game season to being named to his first All-Star team. Forsberg notes that in games without Tatum last season, White averaged 20.8 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per contest, though he adds that the veteran guard has, at times, been prone to cold shooting streaks, which will be harder for the Celtics to weather now.
  • The Celtics’ backcourt rotation appears to be set with Pritchard, White, and Simons, but if any of them were to miss time, Robb thinks an under-the-radar player could pick up the slack: Baylor Scheierman. Scheierman impressed the team toward the end of last season with his ability to function as a play-maker in the pick-and-roll, Robb writes, adding that the Celtics will look for more of that from him this season if he’s able to carve out a role for himself off the bench.

Celtics Notes: White, Walsh, Tatum, Simons, Luis

After achieving his dream of playing for a championship team in 2024, Celtics guard Derrick White never expected it to be torn apart so quickly. Second apron limitations and luxury tax concerns, combined with Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury, caused the organization to make several cost-cutting moves this summer. Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were both traded, while Luke Kornet left in free agency and Al Horford figures to do so too.

White talked about the changes this week in an interview with Liam McKeone of Sports Illustrated.

“That is the tough part about the business,” he said. “But it is a business at the end of the day. Jrue, KP, Luke, all of them, it was definitely tough to see them leave. You wish we could play with them forever, but this is kind of the way it is. I always wish them the best. There will be a lot of fun when we see them again. and I’m just excited to play with the people we do have.”

White is expected to take on a larger leadership role as he enters his fourth full season in Boston, and he may have to provide more scoring as well. He averaged a career-high 16.4 PPG last season while still earning votes for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

“I’m excited,” he said. “It’s obviously a different year than last year, but I think we have the same expectations and standards. So I’ve been attacking this offseason as, ‘I gotta get better.’ It’s been really fun trying to get in the gym and improve on things that I need to work on. When we get back to Boston, it’ll be a lot of fun.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

  • Jordan Walsh is the latest person inside the organization to rave about the progress Tatum has made in his recovery, per Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. During a recent appearance on the Celtics Talk Podcast, the third-year forward indicated that Tatum is well ahead of expectations. “We’ve seen him so often,” Walsh said. “I’ve seen him from when he messed up his Achilles to now, and it’s a big difference. He’s moving around way better. So he’s progressing well. I’m definitely happy to see him getting back healthy.”
  • Anfernee Simons‘ $27.7MM contract provides the Celtics with their best chance to trade for a starting center, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. He notes that Boston has been accumulating traded player exceptions, but they won’t become useful until next offseason if the team plans to move below the tax threshold. Assuming the current roster remains intact, Robb expects Neemias Queta to get the first shot at the starting job, but adds that Chris Boucher and Luka Garza are both offensive threats who fit well into coach Joe Mazzulla‘s system.
  • RJ Luis was recently honored by Ecuador president Daniel Noboa for becoming the nation’s first NBA player, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. The rookie swingman, whose mother was born in Ecuador, was acquired from Utah in a trade last month after he signed a two-way contract with the Jazz.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Queta, Bona

The Knicks will enter the 2025/26 season as a favorite to make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals, but the team will invariably deal with a variety of challenges throughout the year, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post details (subscriber link).

Staying healthy will be crucial for New York.

Former All-Defensive forward OG Anunoby has dealt with his fair share of health issues within the past few seasons, as has All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns. Practically everyone got hurt during the club’s 2024 playoff run, before Towns was on the roster. The Knicks have added some veteran depth this summer to hopefully serve as insurance for potential injuries during the season.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

  • In a poll of colleagues, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg takes a look at how the Celtics could potentially surprise people’s reduced expectations following an offseason of change. Boston traded away former starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, let backup center Luke Kornet walk in free agency, and appears ready to do the same for Al Horford. The team is in something of a holding pattern as it awaits the return of All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum from an Achilles tear, which may not happen until 2026/27.
  • Celtics center Neemias Queta, the team’s fourth-string option at the position last year, will compete for rotational minutes with new signings Luka Garza and Chris Boucher. The seven-footer, who underwent surgery to address a lingering knee issue, is hoping for a career-best showing in 2025/26, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. “I got rested enough this offseason and I think that I put myself in the best position to have a breakout season,” Queta said. “I have the tools to compete with the best.”
  • Second-year Sixers big man Adem Bona is competing for his adopted homeland of Turkey in this year’s EuroBasket tournament. He moved there from Nigeria when he was 13. The 6’9″ pro spoke on Saturday about how his hoops journey began around that time, per Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. “I only played for a year before I left home to move to Turkey,” Bona said. “My first basketball shoes were given to me by a friend… Basketball was just something I really liked because of the pace and the tempo. So it kind of drove me to the game when I started playing for the first time. It was really amazing.”

Turkey, Germany Advance To EuroBasket Quarterfinals

After trailing by a slim margin for the majority of the game, Turkey eventually defeated Sweden, 85-79, to advance to the quarterfinals of EuroBasket 2025, writes Semih Tuna of Eurohoops. The game was surprisingly competitive, considering Sweden went just 1-4 during the group phase while Turkey was 5-0, including Wednesday’s victory over Serbia.

Rockets big man Alperen Sengun was once again the standout performer for the Turkish national team, recording game highs of 24 points and 16 rebounds to go along with six assists and two blocks. Heat wing Pelle Larsson finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal in Sweden’s loss.

Head coach Ergin Ataman complained both before and after the game about Turkey having to compete at noon local time despite being the top seed from Group A, as Tuna relays in another story for Eurohoops.

We didn’t wake up for the beginning of the game. After we understood we were in a difficult situation, in the third quarter, and came back in the game with very good defense, but we gave back this confidence to Sweden,” Ataman said. “Finally, we found a way to win. Now, we will think about the quarterfinal, which I think we will play in regular time, if they don’t want to change again and play in the morning at 11 o’clock.”

Turkey will face the winner of tomorrow’s matchup between Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Germany, which won the 2023 World Cup, was the only other undefeated team during the group phase and is the top seed from Group B. The Germans struggled mightily from three-point range on Saturday against Portugal, starting out just 1-of-24 before finishing 10-of-36, and only had a one-point lead entering the final period, according to Tuna.

However, Germany dominated the final frame, 33-7, to emerge with a 27-point victory.

Obviously, you can improve in every game. I saw the first game with Sweden; they gave a great fight to Turkey, like Portugal gave a great fight to us,” said AS Monaco center Daniel Theis. “It’s the knockout stage. There are no easy games anymore.”

The German national team had five players — including Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner, Tristan Da Silva and Isaac Bonga — finish with double-digit points. Portugal was led by Celtics center Neemias Queta, who finished with game highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes.

Germany will face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between Italy and Slovenia on Wednesday.

EuroBasket Notes: Sengun, Vukcevic, Yabusele, Queta

Rockets center Alperen Sengun continued his impressive EuroBasket performance on Wednesday, outplaying Nikola Jokic in Turkey’s thrilling 95-90 win over Serbia, writes Semih Tuna of Eurohoops. Both teams came into the game undefeated, so the victory gave Turkey the No. 1 seed in Group A heading into the knockout round. It also made a statement for Sengun, who was facing Jokic for the first time in an international tournament and who had been dubbed “Baby Jokic” earlier in his career.

“I don’t think he would want that nickname,” teammate Shane Larkin said. “You can see the similarities with their games. Alperen has big aspirations. Alperen is a very confident kid. Alperen has a very high level of basketball skill and a very high level of talent. The sky is the limit for him. I don’t think he’s anywhere near his ceiling. I think he’s going to continue to evolve and get better and better.”

Sengun put up impressive numbers once again, finishing with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, along with 13 rebounds and eight assists. Through five games, he’s tied for fifth in the tournament in scoring while ranking third in rebounds and assists and second in efficiency.

“In his younger years, his first year, his second year, you could call him ‘Baby Jokic’ just because their styles are very similar,” Larkin added. “He’s proving during this tournament that he’s ready to take that next step. Last year, he was an NBA All-Star, and I think he’s going to continue to grow and continue to be a better and better player. That nickname was suiting for him maybe a couple of years ago. But he’s much bigger and much better than he was when they gave him that nickname.”

There’s more from EuroBasket:

  • Serbia played without Wizards center Tristan Vukcevic, but he’s expected to return for the knockout round, Tuna adds in a separate story. Serbia only had 10 players available due to the loss of Bogdan Bogdanovic with a hamstring injury. “Vukcevic couldn’t be on the roster in this situation, when the game is played with so much energy – everyone is really important,” coach Svetislav Pesic said. “He got a minor injury, nothing serious. He’ll be ready in 2–3 days.”
  • Guerschon Yabusele credits a change in strategy for his 36-point outburst against Poland, per Eurohoops. After a 2-1 start, French coach Frederic Fauthoux focused on creating more shots for the Knicks‘ big man. “We had a conversation with the coach, with the players too, to try to get me involved in the game a little bit more,” Yabusele told reporters. “I know it is important for me to be aggressive the whole time, for the team and for myself. I was trying to find the rhythm and give the energy to the guys.”
  • Portugal was able to advance to the next round despite the ejection of Neemias Queta in a narrow victory over Estonia, according to Edvinas Jablonskis of BasketNews. The Celtics center was tossed midway through the third quarter for picking up a second technical foul when officials decided his celebration after making a basket was excessive (Twitter video link).