Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
It’s been decades since a center won the NBA Most Improved Player award. Will Neemias Queta be next?
"He should seriously be considered because of where he was and where he is now," Joe Mazzulla said.
Sam Hauser chuckled as he recalled what it was like seeing Neemias Queta hit his first career 3-pointer.
The Celtics were already up by 38 points late in the third quarter against the Pelicans Friday night, and Jaylen Brown drew enough attention on his drive to the basket to create enough space for good ball movement.
There was a pass to Jordan Walsh in the corner, then another swing to Queta at the top of the key. Queta stepped into the shot and drilled it, much to the delight of the crowd.
“Buttery,” Hauser said after taking a beat to think about how to describe the shot. “It was buttery. It was smooth. He was pretty excited about that and we were pretty excited for him.”
Advertisement:
“He’s done a great job all year, gotten better and better, and better. He’s really shown why he’s a starting five-man in this league, on our team, and I think he should be in the running for Most Improved Player. He’s come up big for us a lot this year and we need him to continue that.”
Queta is averaging twice as many minutes (25.5 per game) as he did when he came to Boston two years ago. The NBA requires at least 63 games of 20 minutes or more for Most Improved candidates. Queta has played in 75 games, making 74 starts. He had never started more than six games in a single season before this year.
Advertisement:
He has 17 double-doubles, more than LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, and Russell Westbrook have this season. He recorded his 100th block of the year Friday night, which puts him 11th in the NBA.
“That was cool. Those little things are important,” coach Joe Mazzulla said of the blocks milestone. “You see the work that the guys put in and the responsibility and ownership of a guy taking on being the starting center for the Celtics.”
“So, for him to be able to achieve that is great. Just his work and attention to detail defensively – there’s a ton of pressure on the bigs in our system defensively. They have to do everything on both ends of the floor and he relishes that opportunity. I’m glad he got that.”
It has been twenty years since a center won the NBA Most Improved Player award if you count Boris Diaw (like ESPN does), who played multiple positions over the course of his career.
Jermaine O’Neal, who won the award in 2002, is the most recent winner who primarily played center.
Queta is among the leading candidates for the award this year, according to NBA.com.
BetMGM has Atlanta’s Nickiel Alexander-Walker as the favorite, followed by Detroit’s Jalen Duren, Portland’s Deni Avdija, and Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson.
Advertisement:
The Celtics have officially clinched the No. 2 seed in the East. Their success following the offseason departures of Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet, has been evidence that Queta’s game has come a long way.
“He impacts both ends of the floor. Defensively, he covers a lot for us, with his rebounding, shot-blocking, just even contesting,” Celtics center Nikola Vucevic said. “He makes guys think a little bit when they come into the paint, and then offensively he’s so active. Good screen and roller on the glass, just impacts the game in so many ways and some of those things don’t show up on the stat sheet but they matter a lot to us.”
Last week, Jaylen Brown said the growth in Queta’s game from last season to this season is like “night and day.”
“I just think the connectivity is just much higher,” Brown said. “I think his understanding has grown, and I guess just the feel for the game. Early in the season, it just felt like when you would have a conversation (with him), or you’d know it just wasn’t connecting, and it just seems like everything is connecting with him.
Advertisement:
“He’s just got a good feel for the game, and he sees where he needs to be, and it’s been really great for our team this year. It’s been a privilege to watch the growth from the start of the season to where he’s at now.”
There is one more regular-season left to go. Playoff basketball will return to TD Garden this spring, and the Celtics have home-court advantage in the first round.
They’ve relied on a new center to help them get there, and his work ethic has led to noticeable improvement.
“I hope he gets it. He deserves it,” Mazzulla said. “To me, again, obviously as a player but more – what it means to do it for the Celtics I think goes a long way and where he’s been on his journey in the NBA but also his journey with us in the organization. He should seriously be considered because of where he was and where he is now. We wouldn’t be in this position without him.”
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address