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BOSTON — The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are a part of one of the longest rivalries in NBA history, and there's no love lost between the Atlantic Division foes and their rowdy fan bases. But just because the organizations hate each other doesn't mean the players share the same animosity. In fact, Celtics center Neemias Queta said that he's received advice from the Sixers' side before.
On Sunday night, Queta put together the best performance of his NBA career against Boston's old enemy. He recorded a career-high of 27 points (smashing his previous best of 19 points) and hounded the boards for a game-high 17 rebounds in 27 minutes. His 10 offensive rebounds matched the Sixers' total as a team and helped propel the Celtics to a 114-98 win at TD Garden.
The 7-footer's big game on the glass was reminiscent of an outing from Sixers center Andre Drummond, who is often considered one of the greatest rebounders of the 21st century. That wasn't necessarily a coincidence, as Queta revealed that he's gone to Drummond for guidance multiple times in the last year.
"Big fellas, pretty similar game," Queta described of the overlaps between his play style and Drummond's. "When he (was) to be in Detroit, I used to watch a lot of him. It's just trying to figure out how can I get better. Obviously, we're competing on the court and stuff like that, but I'm just a learner."
Queta has been a top student at "Celtics University" — what Celtics star Jaylen Brown and head coach Joe Mazzulla named Boston's impressive player development process — and is averaging career-highs almost across the board. His willingness to reach out to coaches and rival alike show his commitment to honing his craft.
"Every time I can get somebody's advice on how I can get better, I'm just trying to do that so I can improve," Queta said in the locker room. "And (Drummond) has always been on my side on that type of stuff. Everything he sees he just wants to help me out. I appreciate him for that. That’s my guy."
Unfortunately for Drummond, his rebounding tips for Queta came back to haunt him on Sunday. The Sixers vet couldn't keep Queta in check and Mazzulla even name-dropped him while discussing what went into his starting center's career night.
"The big was up, like Drummond was up on the screen so those seams were open," Mazzulla recalled. "We just gave (Queta) the ball and trusted him to make the right decision every time. He was able to get it going. He had some nice up-and-unders in the seam and stuff like that helped propel us to a win. But, their big was up so we just trusted us in the seam and he made the right play every single time."
Drummond obviously didn't enjoy the loss or the Sixers' poor rebounding, which resulted in a whopping 30 second-chance points for the Celtics. However, he wasn't completely discouraged by the double-digit defeat they suffered without star center Joel Embiid available.
"It was tough, I just felt like everything we did just didn’t work," Drummond said of Philly's rebounding woes. "Try to block out, it still went over our head, or just like a weird tip and they ended up getting it. So it was just one of those weird nights again, as I said, I think we played great. We had a good game, we played them well. They just finished our opportunities and we didn’t."
The Sixers will need to prepare for a center with even more height and talent on Tuesday night when they host the San Antonio Spurs and 7-foot-5 phenom Victor Wembanyama. As for the Celtics, they'll be in a similar situation on Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to return versus the C's after missing an entire month of play due to a calf strain, per NBA insider Shams Charania. And although Queta will be out because of rest on the second leg of the back-to-back set of games, the Green Team will still be focused on sticking to the process of winning, regardless of who is in or out.
"In less than 24 hours, we have to do it again, and then on," Mazzulla said during his postgame press conference.
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics' Neemias Queta crossed enemy lines for advice from 76ers center Andre Drummond
Continue reading...
On Sunday night, Queta put together the best performance of his NBA career against Boston's old enemy. He recorded a career-high of 27 points (smashing his previous best of 19 points) and hounded the boards for a game-high 17 rebounds in 27 minutes. His 10 offensive rebounds matched the Sixers' total as a team and helped propel the Celtics to a 114-98 win at TD Garden.
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The 7-footer's big game on the glass was reminiscent of an outing from Sixers center Andre Drummond, who is often considered one of the greatest rebounders of the 21st century. That wasn't necessarily a coincidence, as Queta revealed that he's gone to Drummond for guidance multiple times in the last year.
"Big fellas, pretty similar game," Queta described of the overlaps between his play style and Drummond's. "When he (was) to be in Detroit, I used to watch a lot of him. It's just trying to figure out how can I get better. Obviously, we're competing on the court and stuff like that, but I'm just a learner."
Queta has been a top student at "Celtics University" — what Celtics star Jaylen Brown and head coach Joe Mazzulla named Boston's impressive player development process — and is averaging career-highs almost across the board. His willingness to reach out to coaches and rival alike show his commitment to honing his craft.
"Every time I can get somebody's advice on how I can get better, I'm just trying to do that so I can improve," Queta said in the locker room. "And (Drummond) has always been on my side on that type of stuff. Everything he sees he just wants to help me out. I appreciate him for that. That’s my guy."
Unfortunately for Drummond, his rebounding tips for Queta came back to haunt him on Sunday. The Sixers vet couldn't keep Queta in check and Mazzulla even name-dropped him while discussing what went into his starting center's career night.
"The big was up, like Drummond was up on the screen so those seams were open," Mazzulla recalled. "We just gave (Queta) the ball and trusted him to make the right decision every time. He was able to get it going. He had some nice up-and-unders in the seam and stuff like that helped propel us to a win. But, their big was up so we just trusted us in the seam and he made the right play every single time."
Drummond obviously didn't enjoy the loss or the Sixers' poor rebounding, which resulted in a whopping 30 second-chance points for the Celtics. However, he wasn't completely discouraged by the double-digit defeat they suffered without star center Joel Embiid available.
"It was tough, I just felt like everything we did just didn’t work," Drummond said of Philly's rebounding woes. "Try to block out, it still went over our head, or just like a weird tip and they ended up getting it. So it was just one of those weird nights again, as I said, I think we played great. We had a good game, we played them well. They just finished our opportunities and we didn’t."
The Sixers will need to prepare for a center with even more height and talent on Tuesday night when they host the San Antonio Spurs and 7-foot-5 phenom Victor Wembanyama. As for the Celtics, they'll be in a similar situation on Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to return versus the C's after missing an entire month of play due to a calf strain, per NBA insider Shams Charania. And although Queta will be out because of rest on the second leg of the back-to-back set of games, the Green Team will still be focused on sticking to the process of winning, regardless of who is in or out.
"In less than 24 hours, we have to do it again, and then on," Mazzulla said during his postgame press conference.
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics' Neemias Queta crossed enemy lines for advice from 76ers center Andre Drummond
Continue reading...
