Gonzalez earns high marks from Celtics coach in SL debut, but upset with FTs

Hugo Gonzalez confirmed some all-around promise in his Summer time League debut on Friday.

The Celtics’ 2025 first-round choose put up 12 factors on 4 of 12 taking pictures to go together with 5 assists, 4 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal of their 92-78 victory over the Grizzlies. Past the stat sheet, Gonzalez helped provoke the Celtics’ offense on a number of events and offered robust strain on the Grizzlies’ ballhandlers.

Actually, Celtics Summer time League head coach Matt Reynolds was impressed by the tone Gonzalez helped set defensively in Friday’s sport.

“I’d say Hugo and the entire group had been simply pressuring relentlessly the entire sport,” Reynolds informed reporters. “That’s what we requested them to do, and he ended up on the ball handlers lots. Notably down the stretch, you possibly can see that he was type of carrying it slightly bit. However that was a wonderful tone that he and our backcourt set all through the course of the sport.”

The defensive depth by Gonzalez and different members of the Celtics triggered the Grizzlies to shoot simply 40.6 p.c from the sphere and 20.7 p.c from deep. Memphis additionally dedicated 19 turnovers, which is a extremely excessive quantity for a 40-minute sport.

Gonzalez’s Summer time League debut was removed from good, although. The rookie wing was disenchanted together with his free-throw taking pictures on Friday, making simply one in every of his 5 makes an attempt from the stripe.

“I’m not permitting myself to overlook like at present. What I’m getting upset due to at present’s sport is the free-throw line,” Gonzalez informed reporters. “One thing that, after all, every thing in my sport I want to enhance, nevertheless it’s one thing that I’m not permitting once more.”

The 4 misses from the free-throw line weren’t Gonzalez’s solely misses from contained in the arc. He solely shot 1 of 8 on 2-pointers in Friday’s sport, lacking a handful of layups and driving pictures to the rim.

Nonetheless, Gonzalez didn’t appear to be a fish out of water in Friday’s sport. The 19-year-old completed his season with Actual Madrid in Spain proper earlier than the Celtics chosen him with the twenty eighth total choose within the draft in late June, marking a fast turnaround for him.

As Gonzalez performed a team-high 28 minutes on Friday, he famous that the tempo of the sport might need moved a bit too shortly for him at factors.

“It was exhausting to meet up with the tempo and every thing,” Gonzalez stated. “After I was in Europe, the sport is a number of occasions slightly bit slower. Attempting to have the possession till the top right here in the event you received a shot, you higher take it.

“That’s really making the sport actually up and down and also you gotta meet up with that in the event you wanna play. I’m simply attempting to adapt as quickly as I can so, as I stated earlier than, contribute to the group.”

If he was fatigued, there have been a few moments within the second half the place Gonzalez didn’t present any indicators of it. Within the third quarter, Gonzalez blocked Grizzlies massive man Armando Bacot’s dunk from behind. Within the fourth quarter, Gonzalez made a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer because the shot clock expired to assist seal the win for the Celtics.

Gonzalez shot 3 of 5 from deep within the Celtics’ win, a stat that their teaching employees definitely welcomes. However it was his all-around contributions within the issues not seen on the stat sheet that impressed Reynolds probably the most on Friday.

“For the summer time league group, I’d say that what you noticed this afternoon is strictly what we’re on the lookout for him to do,” Reynolds stated. “Stress the ball, area the ground, be able to shoot, deal with the ball, make performs for others, assault the basket.

“I assumed his aggression attacking the paint was wonderful. Some performs he completed and a few performs he didn’t. I believe that’s going to type of even out going ahead.”