Following an up-and-down summer, Boston Celtics first-round pick Hugo Gonzalez has been mostly solid during his rookie season.
The 19-year-old Spaniard recorded the first double-double of his career on Dec. 20 and had one of the best games of his young career during Sunday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Gonzalez has played in 26 of the Celtics’ first 31 games and on Tuesday, NBA Draft senior writer Sam Vecenie of The Athletic dished heavy praise for the 28th overall pick. The latter placed Gonzalez 14th on his monthly NBA Rookie Rankings.
“Few players bring the motor and hustle that Gonzalez does every time he takes the court. He’s a live wire of loose ball dives and activity, using his nose for the ball to make an impact,” Vecenie wrote. “The Celtics are beating their opponents by a preposterous 20.1 points per 100 possessions in the 354 minutes that he’s played, undeniably a noisy stat influenced by teams shooting poorly from 3 when he’s on the court. But Gonzalez has worked his way into playing significant minutes through his sheer energy and willingness to make the right play. He chases rebounds, moves the ball quickly, doesn’t take bad shots and gives his all on defense. That’s enough for Boston to keep him in the lineup, and it feels like he’s in the rotation to stay even though he’s averaging just seven points during his recent run in the rotation.”
The former Real Madrid star has clearly gained the trust of head coach Joe Mazzulla.
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Gonzalez has played in each of Boston’s last 12 games and after earning more than 10 minutes of action just six times in his first 15 contests, the teenager’s surpassed that mark on nine occasions over his last 11 appearances.
Gonzalez enters Tuesday’s contest vs. the Utah Jazz averaging 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 14.8 minutes per game while shooting an efficient 52.2% from the field.
Featured image via Soobum Im/Imagn Images
