Hugo Gonzalez is fixing his most glaring weakness in real-time

Hugo Gonzalez has a burning desire to be great. When he looks back on his playing career, the last emotion he wants to feel is regret; the desire to maximize his immense potential fuels him.

At Summer League, turnovers, fouls, and a general lack of execution could render the 19-year-old despondent. He'd yell at himself and sometimes even hit himself.

Boston Celtics assistant coach Matt Reynolds, the Sin City C's bench boss in Las Vegas, stated about helping Gonzalez move on to the next play: "Tell him that we believe in him. We know that he's a great player. We know what he can do for us. And so, sulking about a play, or more so, sometimes he's beating himself up, literally; stuff like that is not productive, and it's not going to help you lock in to the next play.

"Maybe, or at least that's not for me. I don't know what his best methods are for moving on. Maybe that's worked for him in the past, but I've only coached him for two games."

Hugo Gonzalez's maturation

Gonzalez's acclimation to the NBA, while adapting to life in a new country, is deseverdly earning rave reviews. He is quickly living up to his potential as a defensive menace. Offensively, he is evolving into a more dynamic threat. Boston is utilizing him as a small-ball center, unleashing the rookie as the screener in pick-and-rolls. That taps into his physicality and abilities as a cutter.

What's also commendable is his maturation moving on to the next play, regardless of what unfolded on the previous possession. It helps to have teammates like Derrick White, who are aiding that growth.

During a 112-105 loss to the Detroit Pistons, Gonzalez closed the third quarter with a sequence to forget. The six-foot-six wing got beat by Jaden Ivey off the dribble for a layup. As he proceeded to bring the ball up, he got stripped by Caris LeVert, leading to a dunk for the latter.

When Gonzalez got to the bench, he punched a chair in frustration. Seeing what happened, White made a beeline toward his rookie teammate.

"Stay with it," White shared post-game about his message in that moment. "Obviously, he's hard on himself, and tough couple possessions, but [it's] a long season, [a] long game, and just understand there's ups, there's downs, and just know that I've been there, and just trying to have his back."

Two days later, after a practice at the Auerbach Center, Gonzalez acknowledged, "That wasn't a great sequence. It was very tough to have it and even tougher to see it again, but you've got to learn from that and move forward."

He also expressed his appreciation that White came over to offer words of encouragement.

"It means a lot," said Gonzalez. "Those types of moments, they just show the type of person and player he is."

The last thing the Madrid native would want is to undermine his talent with detrimental outbursts. To his credit, while juggling so much on and off the court, he has made significant strides in this department.

Even the way he has handled moments of frustration, like what unfolded against the Pistons, reflects the maturation of an individual who doesn't just want to become his best self but is genuinely putting in the work to make that happen.