How Garza’s resurgence is bolstering Celtics’ bench in several ways

How Garza’s resurgence is bolstering Celtics’ bench in several ways originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Maybe the most surprising recent storyline as the Boston Celtics flip the calendar to 2026: The Luka Garza resurgence.

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There was a point in mid-December where it felt like Garza might stay glued to the Boston bench. The team had struggled so mightily in his floor time through the first 15 games of the season that, even with rebounding woes and a lack of pure size, the Celtics elected to simply go small when Neemias Queta wasn’t on the court. Garza logged just 27 total minutes while piling up seven DNPs over an 11-game stretch.

But on Dec. 20 in Toronto, Joe Mazzulla went back to Garza. And the 27-year-old big man was ready for his opportunity.

Garza is averaging 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds over 22 minutes per game while Boston has posted a 5-1 record over its last six games. Garza is shooting 55.6 percent beyond the 3-point arc, and 72 percent inside of it, all while making good things happen with a heavy helping of hustle and grit.

Now it feels like Mazzulla is struggling to take Garza off the court. The Celtics’ best basketball in this stretch has often featured Garza alongside an energy-gushing bench unit.

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A few numbers that jump off the page:

GARZILLA: A net rating monster

The Celtics are outscoring opponents by a team-best 29.2 points per 100 possessions during Garza’s 132 minutes of floor time in his last six games. What’s more, Boston is being outscored by 5.1 points per 100 possessions in his 156 minutes on the bench, giving him a ridiculous net rating differential of plus-34.3 in that span.

Boston is putting up wild offensive numbers with Garza on the floor the last six games with a 127.7 offensive rating. That number drops to 113.1 without him. Boston’s defensive rating is a stingy 98.5 with Garza on the floor and spikes to 118.2 without him.

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It’s a rather surprising turnaround considering the Celtics had a minus-6.2 net rating over Garza’s first 15 appearances before he faded from the rotation.

Lean, mean screening machine

Since Garza reentered the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/garzas-resurgence-bolstering-celtics-bench-134018168.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-02 13:40:00

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