It's tough to be positive about the Boston Celtics right now. They just suffered, perhaps, their worst playoff humiliation, which has only aged worse since their elimination. However, they have a card in their hand that they still really have yet to utilize: the combo of Jayson Tatum and Hugo Gonzalez.
For the record, Tatum's return effectively cut Gonzalez out of Boston's rotation. There is a lot of positional and skill overlap between the two, which is why Gonzalez may have had the most trouble out of all the Celtics adjusting to the return of the team's superstar.
However, next season, Tatum will be over a year removed from his Achilles tear, meaning his leg will be stronger and he'll be more of himself. Gonzalez will also get a training camp with Tatum. Considering Gonzalez played like he never left once Boston inserted him into this series against Philadelphia, it's fair to say that despite an ill-timed rookie wall, he deserves more time.
Technically speaking, Gonzalez and Tatum barely played together this past season. They played a grand total of 23 minutes together. The net rating the two shared was pretty terrible (minus-19.8), but it's a small sample size, and there's plenty of reason to believe Gonzalez and Tatum can adapt to one another once they get more and more acquainted with each other's games.
Gonzalez & Tatum could be golden if Hugo's three-ball comes through
Gonzalez's traditional numbers won't blow anyone away because his calling card wasn't scoring. He was better as a cutter and even showed he had a pretty impressive eurostep. His three-ball was inconsistent, but it did win Boston a game, as everyone should remember (even if they're currently trying to block out the playoffs).
Gonzalez has established himself as more of an off-ball threat. His size and athleticism makes him good at cutting to the basket, but if he can't consistently prove himself to be a threat from deep, opponents will dare him to beat him from the three-point line.
36% from three is not bad at all, but it's just okay. Shooting 1.6 three-point attempts per game also screams that Gonzalez doesn't really depend on that. If he has a better accuracy and shoots more (hopefully in an expanded role), opponents will tkae him more seriously, which would make Tatum's life easier.
Tatum still is one of the league's most complete players, meaning he should be able to find Gonzalez off the ball. If the Celtics rookie shows vast improvement, and the potential is undeniable on Gonzalez's part, the two of them can be a deadly combo.
It really is a shame they couldn't figure it out in time before the playoffs, but they have the time to iron out the edges. If and when they do, Boston should become much tougher to stop.
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