BOSTON – Neemias Queta initially began thinking about becoming the NBA’s Most Improved Player before the season started. Now, with the end of the regular season in sight, Jaylen Brown believes his teammate has a strong case for the annual award.
“Neemi’s been great,” Brown said Sunday after beating the Toronto Raptors 115-101. “He’s been just consistently getting better, protecting the rim, finishing, making those little shots, rebounding. He’s been great. In my opinion, he’s probably one of the most improved players this year. And I don’t know if he’s up for the award, but he should be.”
That endorsement should be meaningful to Queta. After continuing his breakout season with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks against the Raptors, the big man said he thinks about potentially winning Most Improved Player “all the time.” Though Queta said the award is not his primary goal, he did not shy away from his desire to win it.
“I feel like I’ve made a good case for it,” Queta said. “But like we say, that’s stuff that we can’t control. At the end of the day, I’m just helping the team win. And that’s my main goal. Obviously, that’s secondary, the Most Improved, but I’m just glad I’m helping my teammates getting to the spot we’re at right now. And whether I win it or don’t win it, it’s not gonna change my perspective and the approach I take every night.”
What would Queta’s case be? While averaging 10.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, he has answered many of the questions surrounding the Boston frontcourt at the beginning of the season. They lost their top three centers in Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet, but the departures haven’t stopped the Celtics from grabbing hold of the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Queta’s ability to jump from the fourth-string into a starting role has been one of the biggest factors in Boston’s surprising success. Individually, he has flourished as well. He has 16 double-doubles in 73 games this season compared to two double-doubles in his first 110 career outings, plus 98 blocks this season compared to 73 combined in his first four NBA seasons.
As impressive as Queta’s traditional statistics have been, the underlying numbers look even better. He entered Sunday sixth in the NBA in block percentage and eighth in offensive rebound percentage. The Celtics have outscored opponents by 13.3 points per 100 possessions with Queta on the court while falling to plus-3.7 with him on the bench. Through Sunday, he’s tied with Derrick White for the largest net rating swing among Celtics.
Brown said “it’s like night and day almost” how much Queta has developed even from the start of this season.
“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. 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.”
Queta’s performance against the Raptors stood out as another sign of his growth. He made nine of 10 field goal attempts over 34 minutes played while helping the Celtics score 76 points in the paint. Joe Mazzulla said Queta’s ability to read defensive coverages has elevated the Boston offense.
“I think just his ability, his screening and his reads opens it up for all of us,” Mazzulla said, “because we can run our actions (properly). We can see the 2-on-1s, we can make the right play, and he’s just been doing a great job of that. So, yeah, it helps Jayson (Tatum) and Jaylen (Brown), and I think it helps our whole team as well.”
Queta has also become sharper on the defensive end.
“I think he was great defensively,” Mazzulla said. “Just his positioning and protecting the room for us, also his rebounding.”
Queta said he has spent a lot of time on his defensive positioning.
“I’ve gotten so much better at that initial positioning, staying out of foul trouble, getting vertical,” Queta said. “It’s just been a constant development in all those skills to make you a great rim protector. And I feel like I’m trending in that direction, becoming a great rim protector. It’s not easy, and something I really want to be known (for) in this league. So, I just want to keep on honing up those skills and keeping them getting better, especially the positioning.”
Queta could see the opportunity in front of him at the beginning of this season. After the three centers in front of Queta all found new teams, Mazzulla reached out during the offseason to let the big man know he would start at center. It must have been around that time that Queta first started dreaming about the Most Improved Player award.
“Honestly, before the season,” Queta said. “Just talked about it with my agent, like, just wanted to let him know, like, ‘OK, this is kind of doable.’ And ever since then, it’s just becoming more and more clear that it’s possible. But, same approach, same mindset. Make it or break it (with the award), it’s not changing (that mindset).”