BOSTON — For years, before every game, Neemias Queta has gotten up three-pointer after three-pointer after three-pointer.
Sometimes, he’ll make five in a row.
On good days, he’ll make ten.
But since he arrived in Boston three years ago, Queta’s three-point practice has been just that: practice. The 27-year-old has attempted just 11 threes in his three seasons with the Celtics, saving the shot for Auerbach Center afternoons and TD Garden pregames.
But on Friday night, in a 107-103 win over the New York
Knicks, Queta pulled up for a corner three-pointer as though it had long been in his toolkit.
Swish.
The shot marked Queta’s second made career NBA three-pointer and validated tireless behind-the-scenes work. It also came at a crucial time — late in the third quarter, with the Celtics nursing a 4-point lead.
“It just felt great,” Queta told CelticsBlog after the game. “My whole life I’ve been shooting and just getting better at the shot, and finally just to get one in, the first one of the season, no hesitation, shoot it with confidence; that was great. So, happy for that – and hopefully a lot more will come.”
Since Queta arrived in Boston in 2023, he’s worked with a long list of player development coaches, a list that includes DaSean Butler, Amile Jefferson, Steve Tchiengang, Tony Dobbins, and Ross McMains.
“It’s pretty much the whole staff,” Queta said. “We work on shooting in general, so all the pinpointing stuff that we can learn from each guy. It’s something I really appreciate; having different insights from different guys and leaning on those guys over the years has been really helpful.”
Several of the Celtics player development coaches even traveled to Portugal this past summer to help Queta coach his youth basketball camp — Queta named Nana Foulland and McMains as two examples.
When they weren’t coaching the kids, the Celtics’ player development staff worked out with Queta and helped him refine his three-pointer.
“They instilled a lot of confidence in the shot,” he said.
For Jayson Tatum, the decision to find Queta came from pure instinct
The play began with Jayson Tatum driving to the basket. Knicks forward OG Anunoby stepped in front of him, hoping to slow Tatum’s third-quarter onslaught (the Celtics superstar poured in a game-high 16 points in the period, and shot 8-for-10 in the paint on the night).
So Tatum instinctively dished it to the corner, and said he realized that it was Queta who was standing there a half second too late.
“I knew somebody was in the corner,” Tatum said with a smile.
Just not the Portuguese big man who rarely ever shoots from outside.
But he noted how much work Queta has put into his three-point shot, especially with McMains’s help.
“Neem has worked on being a threat around the three-point line,” he said. “He works on that every single day.”
Tatum hit three clutch jump shots in the final two minutes of the win over the Knicks, capped by a three-pointer that effectively put the game away.
But no shot brought him as much joy as watching Queta’s three-pointer drop.
“To me, that was my favorite part of the game, right?” Tatum said. “Kicking it out to him in a big moment, seeing him shoot it with confidence — I was so fucking happy that he made that shot. Cause now Joe can’t be on his ass. He made one, and it gives him leeway to shoot another one. But my reaction, the bench’s reaction, I know everybody was super, super excited to see him shoot that with confidence and make it, especially in that moment of the game.”
Queta’s big three came on the heels of some elite defense
Queta’s shot came just moments after one of his best defensive sequences of the night: a big-time block against Josh Hart.
He ended up on the floor, and Joe Mazzulla ran from the sideline emphatically to pick him up.
“Neemi showed what he was capable of,” Mazzulla said. “So, just had to let them know — that’s the standard that we have to play to.”
In his 22 minutes, Queta racked up 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. None was louder than his late-third-quarter swat.
“It was one of those turning points in the game where those types of plays got us energy, the crowd got going,” Queta said. “Moments like that can help you win big-time games when your team needs it.”
Queta felt good about the defensive sequence, and it felt fitting that he hit a big three on the next possession.
“When you go out there, and you get a deflection, a block — sometimes those things help,” he said. “The basketball gods, they even things out, and I think that’s what happened.”
Expect more three-pointers from the 7-footer this season.
“No doubt,” Queta said. “Just off the spacing that we have, I’ll be on the perimeter more. If nobody comes up to me and I stay wide open, I’ll just shoot it with confidence, like in the workouts. And I think that’s gonna be something that we can rely on in the season.”
