Neemias Queta had himself an amazing season with the Boston Celtics in 2025-26, and then the playoffs happened. The Portuguese center struggled against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, eventually falling to their Atlantic Division rival in part from the fouls and mistakes made by Queta. And that dynamic was not lost on him this offseason, which the Boston big man addressed head on at the team's 2026-27 Media Day proceedings. "The main thing for me in the playoffs this season was obviously the foul trouble," explained Queta. "I think I can be way better with that."
"But (also) not being caught up in the moment, trying to rush into things," said the Celtics center. "Let the game come to you, and don't let your willingness
or ... your wanting to do right be overshadowed, your common sense, and be able to figure that part out."
"You want to be great, but don't let your wants get ahead of your nerves or whatever, and go out there and play it, you know?" said Queta. "And that's one of the things I feel like I improved."
In more concrete terms, the Lisbon native has been working on his fluidity on the court. "Working on my mobility, I feel like I took in great strides in that aspect that I want to be able to keep on improving and ... being able to be more and more versatile," said Queta.
"Being able to be one of those guys that you can keep off the court just because you do a lot of things (to make) more defenses pay by putting either a small on me, whether it's an offensive rebound or just a post-up. Being able to capitalize on those certain mismatches or advantages that we might create and be more reliably offensively."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Neemias Queta on what he learned from Boston Celtics playoff loss to Sixers
