BOSTON — On paper, Celtics forwards Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez don’t have a ton in common. Scheierman is a 25-year-old from Nebraska; Gonzalez is a 19-year-old from Madrid.
But the Celtics’ two most recent first-round draft picks have quickly formed a great friendship apparent to anyone who steps foot into the Celtics locker room or takes a look over at the huddle during a timeout break.
Scheierman is working on improving his Spanish, as evidenced by a 100+ day Duolingo streak in honor of
his hermano. And, Gonzalez is the first to cheer (or more accurately, scream) in celebration of Scheierman whenever he achieves anything on the floor.
On Monday night, the two young Celtics jointly sparked the biggest comeback of the season. With Boston trailing the Indiana Pacers by 20 early in the third quarter, Joe Mazzulla decided he had seen enough. He yanked Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Neemias Queta out of the ball game, and subbed in Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, and Luka Garza, alongside Gonzalez.
The bench mob cut a 20-point deficit to 10 points, and Brown (31 points, 9 rebounds) took things over from there, pouring in 18 points in the final 13 minutes of the game to secure the win.
If you didn’t actually watch the game, you may not realize just how impactful Scheierman and Gonzalez were as a duo; Gonzalez tallied 6 points, Scheierman just 3.
But in that game-saving third quarter run, each of the youngsters drew a momentum-shifting offensive foul. Scheierman played stellar defense on Andrew Nembhard and hit a transition three, while Gonzalez devoured the glass and tallied a block.
And, every time the tides turned, the duo erupted with joy — both because the deficit was being trimmed, but also because they were doing it together.
“We’ve been really, really great friends,” Gonzalez said after the 103-95 Celtics win. “And, we’ve had some great times. And, obviously, I’m super, super happy when he steps on the court and he changes the game for us.”
Gonzalez played the entirety of the second half, ultimately finishing the night with a new career-high in minutes (37) and rebounds (11). Scheierman, meanwhile, played a total of 12 minutes — 9 of those coming in the third quarter.
“He’s just been incredible — today’s game was a lot on his shoulders,” Gonzalez said. “He was able to not play in the first half, but [did] in the second half, it’s not the first time he does it. He was part of that run in the third quarter to come back.”
In theory, Gonzalez and Scheierman are competing for minutes
On the season, Gonzalez has averaged 14.2 minutes a night, while Scheierman has averaged 11.6. Both players have shot the ball well from the outside — Gonzalez is shooting 41.4% from three, Scheierman 42.9% — and both have demonstrated a proclivity for drawing charges and racking up steals. Both are also Brad Stevens’ only two first-round picks as general manager.
But in reality, the two newfound friends have become each other’s biggest cheerleaders. There’s zero animosity from Scheierman that the rookie has been surging in recent days, and potentially eating into his minutes.
“He’s just always happy when I play good,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez and Scheierman have been plenty of goofy moments. Last month, after a win over the Detroit Pistons, Gonzalez crashed Scheierman’s postgame media scrum, and pretended to ask questions, pointing his sneaker insole toward the huddle with a grin on his face in place of a microphone.
The 19-year-old whispered for a reporter to ask Scheierman who was better at NBA2K, and erupted into laughter when the question was actually asked.
After that Pistons game, it was Scheierman who was the man of the hour, having tallied 13 points in 30 minutes (Gonzalez only played 7 minutes that night).
The friendship was on full display on the basketball court in Saturday night’s win against the Toronto Raptors. Scheierman, who had barely played all night, started the fourth quarter and immediately tallied two fourth-quarter steals, finding Gonzalez on the break with a no-look pass that resulted in a layup.
The two have shared the floor for just 80 minutes this season, but they’ve been very jointly effective in those sints; Scheierman-Gonzalez lineups have held a +17.5 net rating, per the NBA’s lineup data.
Mazzulla has credited Scheierman for always finding ways to impact the game when his number has been called, even when the opportunity has just been limited to just a few-minute stint.
“He works really hard, so he’s always prepared,” Mazzulla said. “His confidence never wavers — whether he plays well or whether he makes a mistake, his confidence in his ability to impact winning is always there, and that helps a lot. And he can make an impact regardless of how many minutes he plays.”
And, Scheierman says the same about Gonzalez: “He comes in and just plays hard. He brings a lot of energy.”
Gonzalez and Scheierman first became friends in July, at Summer League in Las Vegas. Gonzalez was beginning his NBA career, just a few weeks removed from the draft, while Scheierman was eyeing his second season after spending much of his first in the G League.
But, if you walk by their adjacent lockers and overhear the laughter and chitchat, you’d think they’ve known each other forever.
“We sit together,” Gonzalez said. “We’re always talking, always giving [each other] feedback.”
On Monday night, that friendship helped power a 20-point comeback, and the Celtics’ third straight victory. The duo walked off the floor grinning, excited by the exhilirating performance.
Winning feels good.
And, it was extra fun to do it together.
“Whenever the other is playing good, we’re really happy for each other,” Gonzalez said.
