An ankle injury sent one of the Celtics’ most important players to the locker room early in Sunday’s game at TD Garden.
Starting center Neemias Queta came up limping after a midair collision with Magic guard Anthony Black midway through the first quarter. Queta, in visible pain, was briefly evaluated on the Celtics’ bench before hobbling down the tunnel.
The Celtics announced he was questionable to return with a left ankle sprain.
Queta jumped from fourth to first on Boston’s big man depth chart following the offseason departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet, and he’s impressed in his first season as an NBA starter. The 26-year-old 7-footer entered Sunday averaging 9.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, with advanced metrics that rank among the league’s best.
Only two NBA players boasted a better defensive rating than Queta’s 99.8 entering Sunday’s action. His 16.8 net rating was seventh-best, and his plus-126 plus/minus was tied for 10th.
“I think our defense is pretty good in general to start with, but I think he’s also really improved, especially in his rim protection and his pick-and-roll defense,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said before Sunday’s game. “He’s done a great job just understanding his matchup every night, understanding the schemes and kind of the offensive system and how we need to be. He’s really grown in that area. It’s a credit to him, and obviously the guys around him who compete defensively, as well.”
The Celtics also have been a far better team with Queta on the court this season. Their net rating drops by 28.7 points when he sits, according to Cleaning the Glass, the third-highest disparity of any NBA player.
Luka Garza has been Queta’s primary backup this season, but veteran Chris Boucher was the first player off the bench to replace Queta on Sunday. Boucher had been a healthy DNP in six of the previous seven games, unable to crack Mazzulla’s ever-evolving rotation.
After Boucher’s first shift, the Celtics went small with 6-foot-8 Josh Minott at the five against a Magic team that was down starting center Wendell Carter Jr. and his backup, Goga Bitadze. Neither Garza nor reserve big man Xavier Tillman saw the floor in the first half, during which Boston outscored Orlando 80-59.
Two-way rookie Amari Williams, who has yet to see meaningful NBA playing time, was with the Celtics’ G League team on Sunday.
Excluding rehabbing superstar Jayson Tatum, just one Celtics player has missed a game due to injury this season (Garza sat out one with a concussion on Oct. 24). Losing Queta for any length of time would put strain on a relatively inexperienced roster that was one of the NBA’s healthiest over the opening month of the season.
