Video Breakdown: Neemias Queta's 'Night and Day' Growth Screening To Create Shots

Getting Out of Screens Quickly
Holding Screens
Slipping Screens

His production has been consistently good for the Boston Celtics this season, averaging a solid 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. But in his last four games, Queta is putting up some monster numbers: 17.5 points, 9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.8 blocks.

“Neemi’s been great,” Jaylen Brown said after the Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors. “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.”

Not to bust people’s bubbles with Queta, because I also think he’s the most improved player, but bigger names like Jalen Duren who became an All-Star this year, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who went from averaging 9.4 points to 20.6, are probably getting most of the votes. Still, Queta’s growth from third or fourth string center to starter and essential to Boston’s playoff hopes has been amazing.

“Early in the season it just felt like when you would have a conversation, it just wasn't connecting,” Brown said. “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. It's like night and day almost.”

Brown hits on perhaps the most impressive element of Queta’s ascent. Who he is now isn’t just a far cry from who he was last year, it’s better than who he was in November. What he’s become is an incredibly effective part of Boston’s second-ranked offense.

According to Synergy Sports, Queta is seventh among high-volume pick-and-roll bigs (75 possessions as the roll man) at 1.34 points per possession. Incidentally, Luka Garza is fifth at 1.373. Queta does a lot of things that make him a 30-plus minute per game guy while Garza fights for minutes and gets DNP-CDs, but it does raise a question of how much the system and Joe Mazzulla’s coaching also plays a role in Queta’s development.

As is usually the case in basketball, and sports in general, everything plays a role. The player improving, the coaching maximizing him, and teammates accentuating each other.

Like on this play:

Getting Out of Screens Quickly

One of Queta’s great strengths has become understanding when to get in and out of screens. On this play, the Raptors are showing on screens, which means Jakob Poeltl is trying to get in Brown’s way long enough for Scottie Barnes to recover. Poeltl is essentially showing Brown his jersey number, but then trying to retreat and still cover Queta. It’s not a full blitz and it’s not a full switch.

So Queta busts out of the screen quickly, which puts a ton of pressure on the Raptors defense.

Neemias Queta — Broadcast screen capture

Brown delivers the ball on target, and Queta is given an easy path to the rim because Sam Hauser and Jayson Tatum are holding their defenders in the corners.

If either of those defenders pinched in to help, Queta would spray the ball to the corner.

Sometimes Queta needs to hold the screen instead of bailing on it in a hurry.

Holding Screens

In this instance, Poeltl is in drop coverage, so two things happen: First, the pick is set super high by the logo.

This gives Tatum space to attack. Second, Queta holds the screen. It’s almost a sacrifice of sorts, taking himself out of the play to also get a defender out of Tatum’s way.

With Hauser, Brown, and Derrick White on the floor, their gravity pulls defenders away from the rim, allowing Tatum to waltz to the rim. All that was missing was a red carpet, which I added to accentuate how bad the Raptors were here.

Queta is also getting very good at understanding when to slip the screen entirely. That's an effective way to attack switching defenses to catch them just being a little too lazy.

Slipping Screens

This is a great read because Queta (a) understands that they’ve been switching, (b) sees Tatum’s defender (soon to be his defender) square to Tatum and standing up pretty tall, and (c) sees just enough space between the two defenders to slip through and go straight to the basket.

One trick that he didn’t use, but can incorporate here is to screen his own man. That's something to keep in mind later when the defense gets wise to them slipping the screen and Tatum’s defender anticipates it by getting lower. If Queta sees that, he could screen his own man, because that would effectively shield Tatum from both and Tatum could turn the corner into a wide-open three-pointer.

Queta has gotten quite good at understanding when to get in and out of screens or slip them entirely. By becoming the threat he’s become, defenses are going to have to start accounting for him in their defensive gameplan.

This is going be critical for the Celtics in the playoffs, because if a team has to worry about Queta at all, that takes focus away from ball handlers, Tatum and Brown especially. Any attention Queta draws means more openings for the offense to exploit.

“It opens it up for our team, because we're able to execute vs. different coverages,” Joe Mazzulla said. “It opens it up for everybody. I mean, Payton's pick-and-rolls with Neemi when he catches it high, and you get handoffs downhill, Derrick making reads. So I think just his ability, his screening and his reads opens it up for all of us, because we can run our actions. We can see the 2-on-1s, we can make the right play, and he's just been doing a great job of that.”