LAS VEGAS — On the first play of his first Summer League game for the Boston Celtics, rookie Hugo Gonzalez sprinted to the hoop for an offensive rebound and put-back. That single play proved why the Celtics took him: His motor never shuts off. Whether it’s offensive rebounding, a hustle close-out, or pressing his guy full-court, Gonzalez always goes the extra mile.
In the first half of the Celtics’ Summer League game against the Memphis Grizzlies, their first contest of the trip, Gonzalez was all over the place (in the best way possible). Even in the final two minutes of the half, he was full-court pressing Grizzlies wing Jaylen Wells—a Rookie of the Year finalist—all the way up the floor. It got to the point where Wells pushed off and Boston’s bench wanted an offensive foul called.
Gonzalez brought to the table exactly what the Celtics saw in him.
How did Hugo Gonzalez look in first half?
Through his first half of Summer League action, Gonzalez was solid. He played 13:52 and put up nine points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Gonzalez shot 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep but unfortunately shot just 1-of-5 from the free-throw line.
His real impact, however, was through plays not shown in the box score. Gonzalez constantly crashed the offensive glass, and he put a ton of pressure on Memphis with his defense.
Even when he wasn’t picking up full-court (which he almost always was), he was bodying Grizzlies ball-handlers in the lane and forcing them into tough shots and passes.
Why did Celtics pick Hugo Gonzalez?
Right after the Celtics selected him, Brad Stevens praised Gonzalez for his effort and toughness on the court.
“We’ve been watching Hugo for a long time,” Stevens said. “He's obviously been on everybody's radar, I think, for a long time. [We] followed his year with a great Real Madrid organization and team closely and watched him in all the UA teams and those types of things, and [I’m] just a big fan of how he plays. He's tough. He's hard-playing. He cuts. He goes after the ball. He competes, like he's got all the intangibles of a winning basketball player, and there are things he can get better at, just like everybody else at that age, but the competitiveness is at a high level.”
Gonzalez didn’t play much at Real Madrid, but that’s because he was on a stacked roster where playing time was limited. However, when he did earn playing time, Gonzalez made sure to leave it all on the floor.
The hustle that led him to crashing the glass for a put-back layup in the first 20 seconds of Summer League is the same trait that led the Celtics to drafting him.
And based on the non-box score stuff he showed in the first half, the Celtics look genius.