With the dust now settled, Hugo Gonzalez might just be the big winner of Boston’s preseason.
The 28th overall pick from this year’s draft is in a crowded position group entering his rookie season, but alongside Josh Minott, his four-game preseason sample was largely a positive one.
Gonzalez’s defense, rebounding and pure athleticism may make his spot in the rotation an inevitability rather than a question mark.
”He plays so hard, so that’s always a good first start,” Derrick White said. “He just knows how to play, knows how to be in the right position, and competes at a high level.
“I’ve seen him just constantly working hard, constantly asking questions, constantly learning and you could tell that he’s been a pro for a while, and he’s played basketball at a high level for some time now, and I think he’s done a lot of good things for us this preseason.”
Bookended by 8-point efforts against Memphis and Toronto, Hugo logged 65 minutes over four games, providing us a large enough sample of what he can provide when playing alongside Boston’s more established rotation players.
It was a little bit of everything in those minutes. Highlights like his steal-and-score against Memphis or his spinzone layup in the second Toronto game will make the headlines, but those 65 minutes offered a general smorgasbord of glass-crashing, cutting and defensive activity that will ultimately factor into how much Joe Mazzulla and this coaching staff trusts him out of the gate.
It’s hard not to notice how mature Gonzalez looks as a defender. The energy and activity is that of an eager-to-prove-himself youngster, but he’s displayed a surprising level of spatial awareness and maturity to meld with his all-out play style.
”I think that’s the biggest thing from his game that we’ve taken is his defensive instincts, especially when he’s off the ball,” Mazzulla said. “He has a great job just reading the game, his ability to rotate deflections. Been very pleased with his defensive instincts. He just has to continue to get better at those.”
This clip from the first quarter of their final preseason game illustrates his instincts and floor awareness on an extended possession. After Toronto grabs the offensive rebound, Boston now has two on the ball, and has to scramble to recover. You can actively follow Hugo’s eyes as he gets a sense of where he needs to be before he takes position near the nail. It puts him in a good spot to defend Ochai Agbaji, and it results in a blocked shot (though Toronto still ultimately scores on the possession).
The prior defensive possession showcases his ability to diagnose and adapt. He gets hit by the Sandro Mamukelashvili screen at the top of the key, and as he fights over to follow Scottie Barnes, he sees Xavier Tillman take the switch, re-routes to the roll man and instead sees the Spain pick-and-roll as it’s happening, putting himself on Agbaji as Barnes no-looks a pass out of bounds for a turnover.
Along with quality defense across four games, he’s also extremely active in the rebounding department. It’s safe to say Mazzulla is looking for five guys that will rebound, and Gonzalez has made an effort to crash the glass on nearly every possession he’s out there for. Considering his very first basket in Summer League was a putback, it’s not entirely surprising to see this development.
Even when he isn’t necessarily getting the rebound himself, we’re seeing plays where his fight is helping the ball end up in the hands of a green jersey. Count it as a rebound for someone else, but that’s a team board.
The big question for Hugo really centers around how he impacts the game on offense. We know he can extend possessions with his rebounding, we know he’s a putback threat, and we know he is a smart cutter that fills open space, but is he a comfortable open shooter or a confident slasher? From what we’ve seen so far, he doesn’t shy away from shooting opportunities, and that’s a very positive thing for a rookie, regardless of if the shots fall at a consistent clip.
Aside from a late shot clock step-back in the corner, and a transition movement three against Toronto, the vast majority of Hugo’s 3-point attempts were stationary and off-the-catch, and the process was quick, the form consistent, and the results potentially sustainable.
He was 3-for-8 on 3-point attempts, shooting two a game. If he’s in that passable 35% range on 1-2 attempts a game, that’s something you can feel comfortable with when you factor in what else he brings to the table.
The way he creates off the dribble is still a work in progress, but his spin move and a hard crossover are part of the package as a play-finisher. This clip against Cleveland also feels like a positive sign of open floor creation. The acceleration as he switches the ball from left to right and goes into his gather is impressive enough, but the kickout to finish it off is a perfectly placed pass into the corner to create a pretty good look.
After Jordan Walsh was sidelined for two games with an adductor injury and Baylor Scheierman struggled as a scorer, Hugo Gonzalez seized an opportunity and made quite an impression in his first crack at NBA minutes. The potential for greater things is evident, but the 19-year-old Spaniard may be a part of Boston’s current rotation sooner rather than later.