Hugo Gonzalez shows intriguing potential in Celtics Summer League debut

It took under a minute for Hugo Gonzalez to make his presence felt in the Celtics Summer League roster debut against the Grizzlies on Friday night. The first-round pick crashed hard from the 3-point line on Boston’s first possession of the game, perfectly timing a putback layup on Baylor Scheierman’s miss for his first two points of the game.

Seconds later, Gonzalez was active again, corralling a steal that led to a Scheierman’s bucket on the other end of the floor. The two-way versatility of the 19-year-old was on display throughout the Celtics’ 92-78 victory over the Grizzlies in front of Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla. Gonzalez finished with 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocks in the win over a team-high 28 minutes.

It was far from a perfect performance for the No. 28 overall pick, who missed four of his five free throw attempts in the first half. Those struggles led to him spending his entire time warming up at halftime at the free throw line getting some additional reps in.

However, there was a lot to be excited about for the 19-year-old Spaniard who was thrust into a host of situations with his new team. Summer League coach Matt Reynolds had Gonzalez initiating offense regularly when he was on the floor primarily with the second unit and he navigated screens well in tandem with Kenneth Lofton Jr., Charles Bassey and Amari Williams. He dished out four assists and got more comfortable with the ball in his hands as the game continued on even while being hounded by an experienced guard in Cam Spencer. The two jockeyed in a physical matchup for much of the contest with Gonzalez holding his own.

Gonzalez was also aggressive on the break and with his jumper, shaking off a pair of early misses from 3-point range to nail two transition 3s. Outside shooting was a weak point of Gonzalez’s game with Real Madrid so it was a welcome sign to see him firing away with confidence already on an NBA court, knocking down a team-high three 3s in the win.

The most promising early signs with Gonzalez came on the defensive end. He was active in hounding Grizzlies players with ball pressure and was given Boston’s toughest defensive assignment (Jaylen Wells) right out of the gate. He worked hard fighting through screens, drawing an offensive foul at one point on a screen. Gonzalez also had a few high IQ defensive sequences, with timely rotations and two blocks on bigger players at the rim. Defense was his clear calling card overseas and it’s evident that’s the part of his game that will translate to the NBA level.

There will be a lot of competition on the bench for Gonzalez in Boston this season on the wing but it already looks like the 19-year-old belongs among a host of more experienced players on Boston’s depth chart.