Hugo Gonzalez, the Boston Celtics first-round draft selection from this year, is in an interesting position. Being their sole rookie this year, the team is likely ready to invest heavily in his development.
After all, he was a bit of a surprise selection on Draft Night, meaning the front office and coaches saw something that stood out about him.
Unfortunately for Hugo, he mostly plays in the one spot where the Celtics are already most comfortable this year. Gonzalez is primarily a big guard out of Spain, standing at 6’6”. He’s gotten a few opportunities to be a primary ball-handler so far this season, but he’s stuck playing behind Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Anfernee Simons, all well-established players at this point in their careers.
On the wing, Jayson Tatum’s absence has opened the door for other young but more seasoned players like Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, and Baylor Scheierman to see increased opportunity which they can play their way into consistent minutes with. They’ve taken advantage of that so far too, which makes it harder for Hugo to break off a larger role for himself. He’s going to have to work his tail off in whatever opportunity comes his way – and that’s exactly what he’s known for. The question is, what else can he add to his game by the end of the season to contribute to this team?
Joe Mazzulla knows how valuable real NBA minutes are for young players. He also recognizes just how much effort Gonzalez puts in day in and day out. When recently asked if he’d consider sending Hugo up to spend time with the Maine Celtics and get some run in the G-League, Mazzulla said, “I haven’t thought about that, no… I think he showed and proved his work ethic, his maturity – but really his defensive instincts, that he can play at this level. And I think that’s more valuable than anything at this particular time… He’s proven he can play and impact winning.”
That’s some high praise for a rookie who has only played 11 games in his NBA career. Most of the league sees this as a gap year for the Celtics in which they can prioritize development, but Mazzulla would probably disagree, and will do anything and everything he can to put this team in the best position to win now and in the future. Having the confidence in Hugo to contribute to that really says something, and it seems like the two are building a strong relationship early on.
When Hugo was asked about Joe’s coaching style, he said he was a fan. “He tries to get the maximum from every single player… He knows that I like to be pushed,” continuing on about how Mazzulla is great at supporting the players.
Gonzalez averages 12.4 minutes per game, tenth overall on the team. Joe has had to get a bit creative in finding the opportunities for him. That’s meant Hugo has had to put his height to good use, primarily spending his time as a wing thus far. He most commonly shares the floor with two guards – some combination of Pritchard, Derrick, and Simons.
While on the court, Hugo’s role has primarily consisted of being a defensive stopper. He’s consistently been tasked with guarding the opponents’ best players. NBA tracking has his top five assignments as Cade Cunningham, Franz Wagner, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe based on matchup minutes. He’s held them to 11 total points in a combined 12 minutes and 40 seconds, 8 of those points coming off of free throws, and not a single one of those players scoring more than 4 points on Gonzalez.
Even when he can’t get a stop, he makes the game harder for opposing players. Gonzalez often picks up full-court, pressuring the ball all 94 feet. He gets himself a lot of tips and deflections, doing whatever he can to try to muck up a play. He’s only 19 years old, (where have we heard that before?) and he fully plays like it, throwing his body across the floor with reckless abandon, scrapping for every loose ball that enters his vicinity, and has a motor that just doesn’t stop.
It’s easy to see why Brad Stevens and Mazzulla trust this kid to be a legit contributor for the Celtics. He reminds Boston of a fan-favorite, Marcus Smart, who made a name for himself by constantly making plays like the one we can see Hugo making in the video above. Marcus was a very polarizing player, though. He was never an efficient scorer, and just as often as he could make game-winning plays, he could also take ill-advised shots and passes in high-leverage minutes.
Oddly enough, Smart’s time in Boston may have set the perfect example for Gonzalez in a kind-of roundabout way. Hugo already has the heart, and like Mazzulla said, the defensive instincts are extremely high for player at his age. He also has more size than Marcus, giving him the opportunity to be a more versatile defender. Gonzalez is going to have to have his feet put to the fire to fully adapt to the elite NBA level defense, but that will come with time. The most important takeaway for him to get from Smart’s tenure is the importance of poise.
As we’ve already seen, Hugo is not playing in his traditional role, and as the NBA shifts further and further towards position-less basketball, he’s going to be put in plenty of situations that he’s not yet used to. Being able to adapt to these different schemes and still maintain his composure to make the right reads is crucial for his growth, and that goes for both sides of the court. He can’t just throw himself at every loose ball; he has to be able to understand when and where to gamble, because NBA players will almost always punish you if you gamble at the wrong time.
Not only that, but unlike Jayson Tatum, he’s not going to be 19 years old forever. Basketball takes a serious toll on a player’s body over an 82-game season, and the Celtics usually tack on at least a few extra games each year. Diving for loose balls will always be appreciated, but not every ball is worth diving for. There are little things here and there that Hugo can keep tuning up as the season goes on to get the most out of his already impressive defensive skillset.
That being said, we’re past the days of players being able to earn consistent minutes just by being a good defender (with maybe the exception of Rudy Gobert.) Hugo likely won’t get as much opportunity to showcase what he can do on the offensive side of the ball this season, but his ability to be a reliable scorer can make or break his career in the long-run.
At this point in the season, Gonzalez is 14-31 on field goals (45.2%), and 5-10 on threes (50%.) The three-point shooting is promising, but there’s far too small of a sample size to take anything definitive from this. In his four Summer League games before the season, he was 13-43 from the floor (30.2%), and 7-23 from three (30.4%) in 104 total minutes, granted he had little time to rest between competing in EuroBasket and Summer League. In the preseason, he was 9-17 overall (52.9%), and 3-8 from range (37.5%).
Clearly, there’s a good bit of variance in Hugo’s shooting numbers. He is going to have to prove his ability to consistently knock down shots. It doesn’t have to be the biggest point of emphasis for this season, but knocking down the open looks he does manage to get will be his clearest path to earning additional playing time sooner rather than later since he’s already proven to be a capable defender.
Jaylen Brown noted Hugo’s skillset and competitive nature, echoing Mazzulla’s confidence in him: “He really wants to be on the floor. He’s doing the little things. He rebounds; he defends. Whatever they’re asking him to do, he’s putting forth that effort. That’s a great sign. We just got to continue to develop that.”
Brown continued on with some advice. He noted that he himself received several DNPs his rookie year, which Gonzalez will definitely go through as well, but emphasized the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity: “You gotta be ready at any given moment… You gotta look at it like ‘I gotta get better.’ You gotta improve. Don’t worry about how many minutes you’re playing.”
Now, what does this all mean for Hugo on this year’s Celtics team? Realistically, there is a path to seize a spot in the rotation, but it’s far from a given. Whether he’s on the court or the bench, he has to take each moment as a learning opportunity. He hasn’t played badly in any respect so far. He can hang at the NBA level, but he has to increase his comfort level, master the simple things, and ultimately show that he’s more valuable than not when he’s on the court.
Most importantly, Hugo cares. So often, that’s what can determine the trajectory of a career. As long as he puts his head down and continues to work, he’ll find success, and he seems poised to do just that.
