The Boston Celtics kick off their post-All-Star schedule with a four-game road trip, beginning with Thursday's clash against the Golden State Warriors. Sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference with 28 games remaining on their schedule, the Celtics are in a much better spot than anyone thought they'd be in before the season. This has understandably increased expectations for this stretch run, especially considering the potential return of Jayson Tatum.
Regardless of whether Tatum returns this season, there is one under-the-radar Celtic who will likely determine how far the team goes. Even though Neemias Queta's name isn't mentioned regularly among the most important Celtics, the 26-year-old center will be an X-factor in the final few months of the season.
Neemias Queta Is the Key to Celtics' Success in the Playoffs
The Celtics added Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline in exchange for Anfernee Simons. While Vucevic has a higher profile than Queta around the NBA, his defensive shortcomings make him a tough fit on a team with real postseason aspirations. The 35-year-old center has very limited playoff experience and has a track record of getting exploited defensively against high-level competition. While his offensive skill set is useful in the center rotation, the Celtics will likely heavily depend on Queta on the defensive end in the postseason.
Queta has started 50 games for Boston this season, averaging 25.1 minutes per contest. He is not the scorer or passer that Vucevic is offensively, but he is a much better defender. In fact, among players who have defended over five shots per game this season, Queta allows the third-lowest field goal percentage within six feet of the basket at 53 percent, per NBA.com. Among centers, he is only behind the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner, Chet Holmgren, in this metric.
The Portuguese center's rim protection has been his best skill all season. His 1.3 blocks and 0.9 steals per game highlight his help defense instincts, and his length is a major deterrent around the rim. Plus, he has enough mobility and lateral quickness for a player his size to stay in front of most big men, making him a modern, versatile defender.
As a result, the Celtics allow 10.9 points per 100 possessions less when Queta is on the floor than when he is not, per Cleaning the Glass. Boston's defensive rating with Queta on the court is 108.2, which would rank second in the league behind OKC's all-time defensive unit.
Queta has the third-best on/off rating on the team; the Celtics are 6.7 points better per 100 possessions when he is on the floor, further highlighting his impact.
The Celtics are already an elite scoring team this season with a whopping 120.9 offensive rating. This would only be helped by Jayson Tatum's return. If they are to have a chance at title contention, however, they also need to be elite defensively. Queta gives them the best chance of being a championship-level defensive unit. Given the lack of quality defensive centers on the roster besides Queta, it's safe to assume that the Celtics will live or die by Queta.