Neemias Queta underwent left knee surgery earlier this offseason following the Celtics’ second round loss to the Knicks, he told CLNS Media. He expects to play in EuroBasket later this month after returning to Boston for final clearance after conditioning at his annual camp in Lisbon, Portugal.
CLNS spent a week with Queta between the camp and Vale da Amoreira, where Queta grew up, and observed his workouts with Maine Celtics assistant Taaj Ridley focused on ramping up for the tournament. This year marks Portugal’s fourth-ever appearance in the competition and its first since 2011. Queta will compete in the same group as Turkey’s Alperen Şengün, Serbia’s Nikola Jokić and his former Celtics teammate Kristaps Porziņģis, who’s playing for host country Latvia. The games begin on August 27.
“It’s been good,” Queta told CLNS. “We’ve been dealing with this stuff (since) a couple years ago. We just decided it was a great time for us to do it. We’re trying to get back to 100%. We feel pretty confident in the process and we’re just grateful that we were taken care of, and I want to make sure I’m healthy and get back to 100% and I feel like I’m on the right path to do that.”
Queta dealt with pain in the knee going back to his youth competition days. Previous injuries, including a stress fracture in his foot he suffered during the summer between his time with the Kings and Celtics, prevented him from playing in past years for Portugal during the offseason. This year, he and his generation are trying to show the country’s progress in basketball despite entering as significant underdogs.
His workouts in Portugal prepared for the role he’ll play with the national team, which places more one-on-one scoring burden on the big man. In Boston, he’ll continue to focus on perfecting his screening, rebounding and facilitating on offense. He’s in line to start for the Celtics after Porziņģis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet’s departures. Queta acknowledged the unexpected increase in responsibility ahead, but asserted he and the team hope to surprise people.
“It’s pretty much a new me and we just want to get it the best possible way we can right away so we have a high ceiling or a high standard,” he said of his recovery. “Whether it gets set back every now and then, we know we started at a great spot for now.”
The timing of the Celtics’ playoff exit allow for Queta to get the procedure in an attempt to reach 100% before EuroBasket. He didn’t consider it a significant surgery, and downplayed it having any role in his reduced role late last season into the playoffs, where he did not remain in the rotation.
Instead, he stressed the need to make great decisions, hit open shots when he receives opportunities and overall play more consistently this coming year. Queta’s minutes could potentially double, and as the roster stands, he’ll need to remain available for most of the team’s games to have a chance at a winning season. He’s focusing on conditioning first ahead of the tournament, which he felt would give him a leg-up on his readiness for training camp.
“We’re getting there slowly but surely,” he told CLNS. “We’re reconditioning our body, we’re figuring out ways to be athletic, ways to be out there moving well. We’re just trying to figure out the movement patterns to get back and I think it’s going well. I’m really confident in the work that I put in, the amount of hours that I put in and it’s gonna show.”
