The Boston Celtics currently have the weakest center rotation in the NBA and it’s not even close. After losing Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet this offseason, their only addition at the position was Luka Garza, best known for winning College Player of the Year in 2021. Garza has yet to average more than 12.2 minutes per game during his four-year NBA career, making his signing as the lone replacement a major concern.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla is left with just three options at center: Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman Sr., and Garza. Combined, they played only 1,313 minutes last season far short of the 3,936 minutes the team needs to fill at the position. None of them has averaged over 20 minutes per game in any season, and all three are 26 years old with multiple years of NBA experience, making the lack of development potential even more glaring.
Boston’s offseason decisions were driven by the need to reduce salary, but letting Porzingis go is already proving costly. The Celtics now face a massive hole at center that will likely hurt them throughout the season.
Compared to other rebuilding teams like the Jazz and Nets both of which have reliable starting centers or young talent to develop the Celtics are in worse shape. Charlotte may be the only team close in terms of center weakness, but even they are trying to groom rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, who showed promise in Summer League.
As for Garza, the Celtics hope he can develop into a stretch five, but that may be overly optimistic. He dominated the G League in 2023, but struggled to earn NBA minutes behind Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid in Minnesota. If he were ready to make a real impact, the Timberwolves likely would have found a role for him.
Without a proven rim protector or strong defensive presence at center, Boston will likely rotate between small-ball lineups and patchwork solutions. Defensively, they may not even reach league average, and their best hope is to win high-scoring games rather than dominate on both ends.
This season is shaping up to be a reset for Boston. With Jayson Tatum sidelined for the year due to an Achilles injury, the Celtics are scaling back their roster to get under the second tax apron. While Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard will try to keep them in the playoff hunt, they aren’t positioned to contend.
The focus is clearly on preparing for the 2026–27 season, when a healthy Tatum returns. Until then, expect team president Brad Stevens to revamp the roster especially at center ahead of a full-scale push back into championship contention.
