BOS 114, PHI 98: Neemias Queta Tops All Fantasy Scorers With 62.4 Yahoo FP
Tommy Flanagan
Journeyman Electrician · Boston Celtics fan
Celtics Roll Past 76ers Behind Queta's Career Night, But Where's Tatum?
The Celtics put on a clinic at home, 114-98, and honestly this game had some weird wrinkles worth untangling for fantasy purposes. Boston's missing their All-NBA first-teamer and still cooked a Philly team that showed up completely undermanned. That's your headline. But the fantasy gold here? It's not where you'd expect.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neemias Queta | 67.0 | 62.4 | 27/17/2 | 10.1/8.4/1.5 | +16.9 |
| Tyrese Maxey | 53.0 | 54.6 | 33/3/6 | 29.1/4.1/6.8 | +3.9 |
| Derrick White | 52.0 | 48.2 | 21/6/8 | 17.1/4.5/5.7 | +3.9 |
| Jaylen Brown | 44.0 | 43.6 | 27/8/8 | 29.0/7.1/5.0 | -2.0 |
| VJ Edgecombe | 41.0 | 40.5 | 23/5/3 | 15.5/5.6/3.9 | +7.5 |
| Andre Drummond | 44.0 | 40.4 | 10/12/4 | 6.9/8.8/1.0 | +3.1 |
| Dominick Barlow | 33.0 | 33.1 | 14/8/1 | 8.3/4.9/1.2 | +5.7 |
| Nikola Vučević | 27.0 | 27.4 | 11/12/0 | 16.1/8.9/3.4 | -5.1 |
| Baylor Scheierman | 22.0 | 21.8 | 12/4/2 | 4.4/3.0/1.1 | +7.6 |
| Sam Hauser | 13.0 | 15.8 | 8/4/2 | 9.3/3.8/1.5 | -1.3 |
The Queta Explosion Nobody Saw Coming
Let me be straight up, I don't have Neemias Queta on any of my teams and I'm kicking myself. The guy went absolutely nuclear for 27 points on 10-14 shooting with 17 rebounds in 27 minutes. That's not a fluke night, that's a guy who was in the perfect storm, and here's why it matters.
Jayson Tatum didn't play. Zero minutes. I don't have details on why yet, but when your franchise player is out and you're playing the 76ers' second unit missing Embiid and Paul George, your backup center gets fed. Queta was +16.9 from his season average. That's the kind of spike that makes you think twice about waiver priorities tomorrow.
The catch? This probably doesn't happen again. Tatum plays next time, Queta goes back to being a 10 and 8 guy. But if you're in a deep league or dealing with injuries, Queta showed he's got the hands and the positioning to punish a thin frontcourt. Worth a spot in 12-team leagues if you're desperate at C.
The Derrick White Bounce-Back Nobody Talks About
Derrick White is still underrated in fantasy circles. He put up 21/6/8 with 5 threes and was All-Defensive last year, which means he's doing something right on both ends. Tonight he was only +3.9 from average, which sounds boring until you remember he's consistent. The guy went 5-for-9 from three and 4-for-4 from the line. That's not luck, that's skill.
The bigger story? With Tatum out, White got 39 minutes and basically ran the offense. Jaylen Brown was still the leading scorer at 27, but White's the one who controlled the pace and hit the timely shots. This doesn't change his value much, but it's a reminder that White's a ride-or-die guy even when Boston's running in emergency mode.
Maxey Put Up a Fight But the Supporting Cast Tanked
Tyrese Maxey went for 33 points and 6 dimes on a rough shooting night (12-34 FG). He was only +3.9 from season average, which tells you everything. Philly's missing Joel Embiid and Paul George, and even with Maxey carrying the load, VJ Edgecombe and Andre Drummond had to do too much.
Edgecombe had a legitimately nice game though, 23/5/3 with 5 threes, +7.5 from average. The dude's 6'4" and he's starting to look more and more like a real fantasy contributor in deeper leagues. Drummond grabbed 12 boards with 4 steals in 32 minutes, which is textbook Andre, but 10 points on 3-5 shooting means he wasn't a focal point of the offense. Can't expect much different when your best players are DNPs.
The Real Issue: This Game Doesn't Mean Much
Here's the thing, and I say this as a Celtics guy so I'm not being a homer, this game tells us almost nothing about either team going forward. Tatum out. Embiid out. Paul George out. Kelly Oubre Jr. got 34 minutes and scored 4 points. That's not basketball, that's a scrimmage.
Payton Pritchard went 0-4 for the Celtics after putting up 17 a night on average. Nikola Vučević was off his game, -5.1 from average with 11 points in 20 minutes. These things happen when rotations get weird.
What to Do Right Now
Don't panic. Don't overreact. Check the injury reports tomorrow before you make any waiver moves. If Tatum's healthy, Queta goes back to the bench and we all move on. If he's got something lingering, then we're talking about a whole different situation.
Maxey remains what he's always been, a top-20 fantasy guy on a bad team. If you got him late in your draft, you're laughing. Edgecombe is worth a stash in 12-team or deeper leagues. White is consistent boring excellence. Brown did his thing even with Tatum out.
And yeah, the Celtics won by 16 in a mostly meaningless game. Good to see. But don't let one game without your team's best player fool you into thinking anything major changed.