It's hard not to play the blame game at a time like this for the Boston Celtics. They had the makings of the clear-cut favorites to come out of the East a week ago, and now they're sitting at home pondering what went wrong. Many are pointing at Joe Mazzulla's decision-making, and it's hard not to think he played a part in it.
Among the more controversial choices he made was benching Hugo Gonzalez for most of the postseason until Game 7. He played in three of the prior games, but only in garbage time.
Once Mazzulla let him out of the doghouse, it didn't take long for the Celtics rookie to let the team what they've been missing.
This is why I’ve been clamoring for Hugo Gonzalez to play. He has a super power to change the energy of any game he plays in no matter how long he’s been sitting
— NikNBA🏀 (@NIKNBAYT) May 3, 2026
Don’t care Maxey scored on the first ply at all Hugo played perfect defense and shut off multiple things
Then he… pic.twitter.com/JCVcLrMwnu
It was looking pretty grim when Gonzalez subbed in. The 76ers basically owned the first quarter, going up 32-19. Gonzalez spearheaded Boston's comeback; at one point, they took a lead. Even though Gonzalez himself didn't score a point. By the time they subbed out, the Celtics had hope again.
In Mazzulla's defense, Gonzalez started to look worse once Jayson Tatum returned, but when Philadelphia started storming back in the series, it was clear Mazzulla's plays weren't working. At times like those, Boston was pretty much out of options. They had everything to lose, but nothing much better to throw at their division rival.
In a game where Boston lost by nine, Gonzalez finished with a plus/minus of plus-3. The only Celtic with a higher plus-minus was Neemias Queta. The Celtics' rookie made a name for himself for his defensive versatility. It may not have always prevented buckets, but he's one of the few players in the NBA, let alone on the Celtics, who could be thrown at Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Gonzalez proved himself effective against Philadelphia
What made Gonzalez so impressive was that it didn't take much time for him to prove to the Celtics that he was a keeper. Among his first standout games was actually among Boston's first wins of the season against Philadelphia.
Glass half-full: Gonzalez proving he was ready from the jump shows that he will be ready when the Celtics start calling his name more going forward.
Glaff half-empty: Gonzalez playing as well as he did makes it harder to digest the previous losses, as he was right on the bench the whole time.
Gonzalez might not be a future star, but he proved in first NBA season that he should be a main cog going forward. Yes, he tripped up at the worst time, but a bad stretch should not have kept on the bench at the most vital time of the season.
The mistake was made, yes. Here's to hoping it doesn't happen again...
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