Queta, Robinson or Garza: who closes games at center?

Every contender needs an answer to one question in the final five minutes of a close game: who's protecting the rim? Boston walks into camp with three real candidates, and each one solves a different problem.

Neemias Queta has the incumbent's case. He played 76 games last season, averaged 25.3 minutes, and turned that into 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds on 65.3% shooting. That's the profile of a starter who doesn't need plays called for him to be useful.

Mitchell Robinson arrives from New York with the best rebounding numbers of the group by a wide margin. He pulled down 8.8 boards in just 19.6 minutes a night and shot 72.3% from the field, the best mark of the three.

Luka Garza is the scorer. In 16.2 minutes he put up 8.1 points on 57.7% shooting, which works out to the highest scoring rate of the three when you stretch it to a full game.

The free-throw problem

Robinson's numbers come with a catch late in games. He made 40.8% of his free throws last season. In a one-possession game, opponents can foul him away from the ball and dare him to beat them from the line. Queta (70.3%) and Garza (76.9%) don't give teams that option.

The availability case

Queta's strongest argument might be the simplest one: he was there. Seventy-six games is the most of the three, and his 25.3 minutes a night were the most too. Coaches tend to trust the player whose mistakes they already understand.

The preseason won't settle this, and it isn't supposed to. But by the fourth game, the order Boston uses its centers will tell us a lot about who closes in April.