The Celtics will be without Neemias Queta for Wednesday’s game against the Pistons, the team announced Tuesday. Boston’s starting center has been declared out due to a sprained left ankle suffered in Sunday’s win over the Magic. It will be the first game that Queta has missed this season.
Queta did not take part in Celtics practice on Tuesday at the Auerbach Center but was spotted walking across the court under his own power afterwards. Joe Mazzulla declined to comment on his condition, but Queta’s teammates acknowledged that the team would need to step up in his absence.
“We don’t really have a guy that like replaces what Neemi does for us,” Derrick White said. “It’s gotta be just a group effort, obviously [Xavier], Luka, Chris, like they’re gonna get a bigger chance and,we’re gonna need a lot from them, but it’s also on us. We don’t have Neemi back there to kinda take out some of the problems or the mistakes we make on the perimeter. It’s gonna be a team effort, rebounding and everything. Hopefully he comes back as quickly as possible, but we all got to step up.”
Queta has been one of the biggest standouts on the Celtics roster through a 9-8 start, averaging a career-high 9.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. His impact is even greater when assessing the on/off numbers with him on the court as he sports a plus-17 net rating. The Celtics are a far superior defensive team with Queta on the floor this year, allowing 25.7 points per 100 possessions fewer in his 402 minutes on the court.
Without Queta available, the Celtics will need to turn to a combination of Xavier Tillman, Chris Boucher and Luka Garza to soak up some of the center minutes. Boston is also going to call up rookie two-way center Amari Williams from Maine for at least the matchup against the Pistons. Joe Mazzulla also opted to play small ball at center in Sunday’s win with Queta sidelined, giving Josh Minott and Jordan Walsh lengthy stretches as centers in the victory.
The Pistons come into town with one of the best front courts in the league led by Jalen Duran. Detroit is riding a 13-game winning streak for the matchup, which tips off at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday night at TD Garden.