It might feel like hyperbole to suggest Neemias Queta is the most irreplaceable player on the Boston Celtics roster given what Jaylen Brown is doing on a nightly basis. But for a team lacking pure size in an overhauled frontcourt, it sometimes feels like a healthy Queta is vital to Boston’s overall success.
The numbers through the first 17 games of the 2025-26 season seem to confirm as much.
Queta owns the best net rating on the team, with the Celtics outscoring opponents by 16.8 points per 100 possessions in his 396 minutes of court time. Perhaps more noteworthy: Boston has been outscored by 6.3 points per 100 possessions in Queta’s 372 minutes off the court. He’s the only player on Boston’s roster in the negative for off-court net rating.
Which, stated more simply, suggests the Celtics play their best basketball with Queta on the court, and their worst basketball without him.
The team’s rebounding percentages plummet without Queta, while Boston’s defensive rating spikes by 20.3 points per 100 possessions when he’s not on the floor.
So, when Queta limped off the court after landing awkwardly trying to block a shot early in Boston’s win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, it put the Celtics in a precarious spot.
With Orlando operating without key frontcourt personnel, the Celtics were able to lean into small-ball lineups, often featuring Josh Minott at the center position. Boston built a 26-point first-half lead, then held on at the finish line for a 138-129 triumph at TD Garden.
A lineup featuring Minott alongside the remaining starters of Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Jordan Walsh was a team-best +9 in just under eight minutes together. Another lineup that paired Minott, Pritchard, and Brown with Anfernee Simons and Hugo Gonzalez was also +6 in just under four minutes together.
Mazzulla admitted the Celtics were able to get away with going small given the limited personnel that Orlando had available. If Queta were to miss any additional time, the ability to stay small gets a bit more daunting, especially with size-filled teams like Detroit, Minnesota, Cleveland, and New York looming on the schedule.
The Celtics essentially have five “bigs” on their roster this season. Queta is the only pure 7-footer in the bunch. Luka Garza, Chris Boucher, Xavier Tillman and Minott have filled minutes at center, too.
Here’s how the top-used big combinations (20+ minutes) have fared this season, per PBPStats tracking:
Queta’s impact, regardless of lineup, is emphasized yet again. The Celtics elected to keep Garza on the bench Sunday and just ride the smaller lineups with Minott. The soon-to-be 23-year-old forward (his birthday is Tuesday) produced one of his best outings of the season with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds over 19:30.
If Queta misses additional time, the Celtics will face tough choices. They could try to stay small and ride the trio of Minott, Garza, and Boucher. They could consider recalling 6-foot-11, two-way big man Amari Williams, who is averaging 12.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in seven appearances for Maine this season but has seen just seven minutes of NBA floor time.
The injury to Queta, regardless of how long it keeps him out, stresses again just how razor-thin the margins are for the Celtics. Last season, it didn’t matter if Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford were getting rest days, as the team could navigate with Queta and Luke Kornet.
Now, things get tricky even with just one starter absent.
