Joe Mazzulla breaks down Neemias Queta’s playoff foul trouble

· Yahoo Sports

PHILADELPHIA — Throughout the 2025-26 regular season, Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta was on a roll. He largely dominated the opposition in his first year as a true starter and he even had the highest-scoring game of his career against the Philadelphia 76ers, who the C's now face in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. That success hasn't carried over into the postseason, though, and it's largely because of foul trouble.

Less than 4 minutes into Game 1, Queta earned a pair of quick fouls that forced Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla to sub him out for veteran big man Nikola Vucevic. The early replacement wasn't a big deal in the series opener, as the Celtics proceeded to crush the Sixers 123-91. In Game 2, Queta was able to stay in the game for longer, yet he kicked off the fourth quarter with 2 fouls that didn't help the Celtics close the gap late against the Sixers. Boston ended up dropping that contest and responded with a clutch win on Friday in Game 3, but, once again, Queta wasn't out there a lot because of his fouling.

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"Mostly his foul trouble," Mazzulla responded on Saturday when asked about Queta's shrinking minutes. "Obviously, we need Neemi at his best for us to be a great team."

Through 3 playoff games, Queta has averaged 4 personal fouls and 18.7 minutes per outing. During the 2025-26 campaign, the 7-footer averaged under 3 personal fouls and a little over 25 minutes per game.

"Some of those have been illegal screens, some of them (are because) they have great guard play, where they can get downhill, and they put a ton of pressure on your bigs in pick-and-rolls," Mazzulla described of Queta's frequent foul trouble. "We just got to be as disciplined as we can in our screening and our pick-and-roll defense."

While fouling has hindered Queta's momentum in the playoffs, he's still shown he's capable of playing like the guy who exceeded expectations in the regular season. The Lisbon native has only missed a single field goal so far (on 10 attempts) and is shooting 90 percent from the charity stripe as well. If he can stay in a game for longer, Mazzulla knows the Celtics will benefit.

"Don't foul," Mazzulla replied plainly when asked what his advice for Queta is.

Queta, who had never started a playoff game before this season, understands that he needs to control his fouling for the sake of his squad.

"It's not good," Queta admitted. "You're only going to be a shell of yourself if you keep doing that consistently. So, I can’t be doing that. The team needs me out there and I’ll be better."

Game 4 tips off on Sunday night in Philadelphia at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Celtics have managed to take a 2-1 series lead without a ton of help from Queta, yet a time will come when they'll need him to slow down the Sixers, especially with Philly star center Joel Embiid potentially eyeing a comeback.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Joe Mazzulla knows Celtics can't have Neemias Queta in frequent foul trouble vs. 76ers

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