Luka Garza has been somewhat lost in the center discussion for the Boston Celtics. Everybody is talking about the Mitchell Robinson signing, the Neemias Queta experiment continuing, and the overall intrigue the two of them will bring as a pair. But everyone (including me) has been sort of brushing Garza off to the side.
He was good in his first year with the Celtics last season, and he made huge strides as a floor-spacer (he shot 43.3% from deep on 1.8 attempts per game -- both of these numbers are career highs), but his upside is limited, and he doesn't bring as much value as Robinson and Queta do.
Still, that doesn't mean he won't carve out a nice role in Boston this season, and he proved as much during the team's first preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. Garza had a terrific game, and he made a big statement.
Luka Garza was impressive during Celtics' preseason game vs. Cavaliers
In the 124-112 win, the 27-year-old scored a game-high 22 points and recorded 10 rebounds (including four offensive), three blocks, and two steals. He shot just 6-for-17 from the field and 3-for-10 from deep, but he at least shot the ball with confidence, and that's half the battle sometimes.
Garza was everywhere against Cleveland. He did a good job of getting open. He was very active defensively (which is not his strong suit), swiping at some balls, contesting and blocking shots, and mostly guarding Evan Mobley and making life difficult for him (I know he's very underwhelming as a player, but Mobley made an All-NBA team just two seasons ago).
He was also very active on the boards and came down with a ton of them, which is important, given that winning the possession battle is going to be key for Boston this year (again, this was still impressive, even if he's going up against Mobley, who grabbed one rebound in 17 minutes).
I was also a little surprised at how often the Celtics' offense seemed to run through Garza. It seemed like he had the ball at some point in every possession, and he made a lot of solid decisions and some really nice handoffs/passes (I almost feel like his two recorded assists don't actually do any of this justice).
Garza isn't much of a needle-mover, and the Celtics would be in trouble if they ever needed him to start Game 7 of a playoff series (again -- too soon?), but he is still a nice player to have. He knows his role and how to play it well. He plays hard. He does all the little things and is continuing to get better. And he's also the Celtics' only stretch big (I guess we can officially call him that now).
The fact that he is Boston's third center is proof that its center room is incredibly deep. This was already expected to be one of the team's biggest strengths, but given Garza's performance, it might be even better than we anticipated.
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