Hugo Gonzalez It is fashionable in the NBA with its open-grave basketball, titanic efforts as if there were no tomorrow and the assault of stars with the knife between their teeth every time they are loose on the court, no matter how big the challenge is and how big the rival is. If necessary, fight with ogres taller than 2.10 and their big bodies like Karl-Anthony Towns y Bam Adebayo despite his height of 1.98 and the fact that the Boston Celtics forward’s body is still a tender one to develop at 19 years old.
The ex of Real Madrid He has everyone’s heart stolen as one of the best rookies of this season – the best according to the plus-minus with a +162 -, and is capable of stealing the soul of each star. And with so much theft Hugo already has about 16 recoveries with which he surpasses Shaquille O’Neal on the Celtics’ historical list to be 204th among the 525 players who have dressed in green, according to journalist Alejandro Gaitán.
And as another milestone that is a kind of premonition of what he can do in Boston, a knock-knock At the door of the history of the most successful franchise in the NBA, the forward became the second youngest in the history of the Celtics with his 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Raptors, only behind Jayson Tatum in signing a double-double.
His first double-double In the NBA it had a special meaning to suddenly be seen leaving another mark on Boston’s history alongside Tatum himself after becoming the Celtics’ second youngest starter after the ‘0’ in October. It is no coincidence that Jayson Tatum’s side is felt on the plane as he revealed to Drafted.
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Second milestone for the Spaniard as the second youngest in the history of the Celtics
Hugo González, flirting with Tatum
Symbolic numbers that extol what Hugo González is doing this season, surpassing expectations. And, moreover, after his last two performances, in which he chained two double-digit games for the first time with his 10 against the Miami Heat of Kaspars Jakucionis and those 10 against the Raptors with both victories for Boston. Against the Canadian team, the former Real Madrid player almost literally jumped off the statistics sheet with a huge plus-minus of +37, the best on Joe Mazzulla’s team. Hugo played 28 and 29 minutes to reach his maximum number of minutes played so far.
The Spanish international is breaking statistical barriers while he begins to break the ice in attack, where he is having the most difficulty in the meantime. Player who continues to have the most impact on the other side of the court, his numbers are not particularly striking with averages this season of 4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 12 minutes, although there is his efficiency in the triple with a 48% despite his low volume of shots, one per game.
But Hugo knows how to select his shots like few others rookies while the man from Madrid tries to put emphasis now on the pot game as he also revealed to Drafted once he is gaining more and more confidence with long distance shooting.
However, its best highlights remain defensive with those defensive instincts that have captivated his coach, Joe Mazzulla. He blocks even centers as was the case against the Raptors against Sandro Mamukelashvili and has a good repertoire of steals as a specialist thief, sometimes after navigating a screen or sometimes anticipating a post entry. The two Raptors stars were able to testify to this well in Toronto, Scottie Barnes y Brandon Ingramso that the former Real Madrid player continues his successful crusade against NBA stars.
And on the court in Toronto, Hugo was the one chosen to speak after everything he said during that game that the Celtics won 96-112. I didn’t even pant despite the effort and two nights in a row without rest and with a trip to the Canadian city included.
“You can’t be tired, I’m only 19 years old,” the Spanish international said clearly and simply.
“It’s easy for me to have great energy when the team also helps and everyone wants to be the guy next to you who succeeds. It makes it really easy,” added the forward, while the demanding Mazzulla, as much of a fan of his as he is demanding, appreciated his progress while at the same time I demanded more from him.
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“He’s finding the balance between how to be super aggressive and defend without being fouled, so we can keep you on the court, right? I think you don’t want to take that away from him because of his defensive instincts and his ability to make plays on both sides of the court, he has great ease with the ball defensively and he’s learning how to play with different matchups and coverages on offense. He’s been fantastic for us in the last few games and he has to continue to improve,” highlighted the Boston coach.
Faced with those defensive instincts that he cites over and over again, Joe Mazzulla He has not hesitated to throw Hugo González to the lions from the beginning by unleashing him against stars, beasts of more than 2.10 included against whom he has received the occasional scratch that is still clearly visible on his neck. Even a mammoth and historic center like that Shaquille O’Neal He would give the one he just surpassed a hard time. Hugo, without fear of anything.
