Luka Garza Explains Childhood Problem That Made Him a Great Offensive Rebounder

Luka Garza is either going full speed, or he’s sitting down. There really isn’t any in-between. He walks off the floor after every game looking like all of his minutes were played in a sauna.

“I don't think you can replicate how hard he plays,” acting head coach DJ MacLeay told reporters after the game. “It's truly a skill. It's a special ability that he has. He puts so much pressure on the defense and with how physical he consistently is … he just goes and goes and goes and goes, and it's great.”

On Thursday night, with the Boston Celtics resting half the team and most of its regulars, Garza was given the start, and once again, he took full advantage of it on his way to 22-point, 10-rebound double-double. And of course, four of his rebounds came on the offensive glass.

For Garza, that translated into his 22 points, 17 field goal attempts, and eight trips to the line, all of which were team highs. And all of it was due to a relentlessness that became necessary if he was ever going to touch the ball at all.

“It's something I just learned when I was young,” he told reporters in Cleveland. “I'm a guy who wants the ball in my hands, and when I was younger, no one would throw it to me, so I had to go get off the glass. That's where it started and since then it's just become who I am as a basketball player.”

It’s something that he can really lean into on the Celtics, who have been one of the teams at the forefront of reemphasizing offensive rebounding. After an era where teams determined falling back and setting a defense was more important than attacking the glass, the Celtics have pushed crashing as a way to maximize possessions.

Garza maybe have learned the skill for selfish reasons as a kid, but the net effect of it is positive for everyone.

“[It] creates second chances, not only for myself, but it brings guys to try to box me out, and then someone else can get a rebound,” he said. “So it's something I know I can control, something I can know I can do every single game, and I just try to be as consistent as possible.”

Garza is now in a frontcourt alongside Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta, so his minutes might not be as plentiful as last season, but the Celtics highly value his skill, so he’ll still be a contributor. In a way, he built a career on that childhood lesson, but the dynamic isn’t changing all that much. Going to get the ball off the glass, whenever he gets a chance to, is always going to be his best chance at scoring.

“These opportunities don't come around often,” Garza said. “So when they come, no matter who it's against, you want to take advantage of it. You want to go out there, play as hard as you can, play free, and show what you can do.”