Joe Mazzulla Explains What Luka Garza Is Doing to Earn Minutes In Celtics Rotation

To begin December, Luka Garza found himself struggling to earn minutes in Joe Mazzulla’s Boston Celtics rotation. He recorded five DNPs in seven games. However, he’s now reestablished himself in the second unit and has been impressing with his physicality and effort levels.

On Tuesday, Dec. 30, Garza came off the bench to make a key impact in Boston’s 129-119 win over the Utah Jazz. The 6-foot-10 big man ended the night with 15 points, six rebounds, one steal and one block. He shot 75% from the field, including going 2-of-2 from deep.

During his postgame news conference, head coach Joe Mazzulla praised Garza for the developmental growth he’s shown since joining the Celtics in the offseason.

“I think Luka has gotten better,” Mazzulla said. “You know, his screening, his offensive rebounding, he cares defensively. I thought he made some, even on a couple of the fouls he had, I thought they were just physical plays, which I’m okay with. He lets you know that he’s out there and I think he just plays well for us. So it was a screening, it was an offensive rebounds, but it was his physicality defensively that I thought he did good as well.”


Garza joined the Celtics after spending four years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he struggled for playing time due to the strength in depth available to Chris Finch. However, he is starting to find his rhythm as Boston’s second-string big man.

Boston’s center rotation was decimated during the offseason as Al Horford, Luke Kornet and Kristaps Porzingis all left the franchise via trade or free agency.

Garza, like multiple other talents on the Celtics’ roster, is fighting to prove he belongs on an NBA roster. His recent production is certainly proving that this is the case. However, the real test will come when the Celtics add some more depth to their center rotation, as that’s clearly an area of need for the franchise.