It may seem like an understatement to say that Neemias Kweta is the most irreplaceable player on the Boston Celtics roster considering 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 Quetta is vital to Boston’s overall success.
The statistics from the first 17 games of the 2025-26 season seem to confirm this.
Quetta 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 notable: Boston has been outscored by 6.3 points per 100 possessions in Quetta’s 372 minutes on the court. He is the only player on Boston’s roster in the negative for off-court net rating.
Which, stated more simply, suggests that the Celtics play their best basketball with Quita on the court, and their worst basketball without him.
The team’s rebounding percentage decreases without Cueta, while Boston’s defensive rating increases by 20.3 points per 100 possessions when he is not on the floor.
So, when Cueta limped off the court after landing awkwardly while trying to block a shot early in Boston’s win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, it put the Celtics in a precarious position.
With Orlando operating without key frontcourt personnel, the Celtics were able to lean into small-ball lineups that often included Josh Minott at the center position. Boston led by 26 points in the first half, then held on over the finish line for a 138–129 victory at the TD Garden.
A lineup from Minot with Brown, Derrick White, Peyton Pritchard and Jordan Walsh remaining starters was a team-best +9 in just under eight minutes. Another lineup that paired Minot, Pritchard and Brown with Anfernee Simmons and Hugo Gonzalez was also +6 in just under four minutes.
Mazzulla acknowledged that the Celtics were able to get away with making small moves given the limited personnel available to Orlando. If Quetta misses any additional time, the ability to stay short becomes a little more challenging, especially with size-laden teams like Detroit, Minnesota, Cleveland and New York coming onto the schedule.
The Celtics essentially have five “bigs” on their roster this season. Quetta is the only purebred in the group, standing 7-feet tall. Luka Garza, Chris Boucher, Xavier Tillman and Minot have also filled minutes at center.
Here’s how the top-used big combinations (20+ minutes) have performed this season, according to PBPStats tracking:
Regardless of the lineup, Quetta’s impact has been emphasized once again. The Celtics elected to keep Garza on the bench Sunday and ride a smaller lineup with Minot. The soon-to-be 23-year-old forward (his birthday is Tuesday) turned in one of his best performances of the season with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds in 19:30 minutes.
If Quetta misses overtime, the Celtics will face difficult choices. They could try to stay small and ride the trio of Minot, Garza and Boucher. They may also consider recalling Amari Williams, a 6-foot-11, two-way big man who has averaged 12.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in seven games for Maine this season but has only seen seven minutes of NBA floor time.
Quetta’s injury, regardless of how long he’s out, once again emphasizes how slim the margin is for the Celtics. Last season, it didn’t matter if Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford were getting rest days, because the team could navigate with Cueta and Luke Kornet.
Now, the absence of just one starter also makes things difficult.
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