During his three-year tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Luka Garza didn't play much. He posted averages of 6.3 minutes, 4.5 points, and 1.6 rebounds. However, Garza signed with the Boston Celtics this offseason. With the Celtics' lack of center depth, Garza has a path to get real minutes. Throughout his career, defense has been a fatal flaw for Garza. Nevertheless, Garza sounds eager to improve defensively, and he recently spoke to this.
"Every summer, there is a huge dedication to the defensive side of the ball and just maximizing what I can do on that side, Garza said. I know the better I can get there, the better it's going to be for my career. So, continuing to work on my hands, my ability to drop, read, and just be a high-IQ guy on that end... And then also, in different switch attacks and being able to guard guys and kind of do the best that I can, to read angles and read personnel to give me the advantage on that side of the ball. So, you know, those are all things I work on."
Undoubtedly, this is excellent self-awareness from Garza. Both improving in drop coverage and being able to switch on to smaller players more effectively could make a massive difference for Garza. These improvements will be crucial for Garza as he has a chance to earn some significant minutes with Boston.
Garza must improve on defense to make the most out of his increased role with the Celtics
During his Minnesota tenure, Garza was stuck behind Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Julius Randle, and Karl-Anthony Towns before Randle. Now with the Celtics, he'll be competing with Neemias Queta, Chris Boucher, Xavier Tillman, and second-round pick Amari Williams for minutes. This is certainly a massive change, and Garza now has a chance to play a real rotational role. Garza is a gifted scorer and a talented offensive big man, which gives him a shot to contribute at a high level.
Regardless, Garza's defense must improve for him to maximize this opportunity. In all four years that Garza has played in the league, opponents have shot higher than league average every season when guarded by him. Garza has also never held opponents to below 66.7 percent shooting at the rim. As Garza noted, he still must improve at positioning and IQ in drop coverage.
Being a drop coverage big man will always be his role on an NBA defense. However, the Celtics run a switch-heavy defensive scheme, and mobility has never been more important. Garza will need to find a way to become an adequate defender on switches, or he will get constantly targeted. If Garza can improve on defense, he could carve out a legit NBA role given his gifts as a scorer.
This season will be vital for Garza's defensive development and overall NBA future. Luckily, the 26-year-old center seems willing to make these improvements and is aware of what he specifically needs to get better at. While he's on a different team, Wolves fans will certainly be rooting for Garza's development.