Boston Celtics rookie pops off for multiple highlights in Grizzlies win

Celtics fans who weren’t familiar with Hugo Gonzalez immediately got an introduction to his play just minutes into his debut. Gonzalez picked up two blocks on the Grizzlies in his first two minutes of action, setting the tone early as he excelled coming off the bench.

Gonzalez finished with eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, three blocks and three turnovers Wednesday. He shot 3-for-4 from the field, and as a bonus, made 1-of-2 of his 3-pointers. Just like his Summer League play, Gonzalez consistently showed off his activity level in the blowout Celtics win over the Grizzlies.

“Obviously not every day you can go and have three (blocks),” Gonzalez told reporters in Memphis, via NBC Sports Boston. “As soon as you can impact the game defensively, making the correct feel, the correct things, I think that’s the most important thing apart from having big plays or something like that. Just being correct defensively, so you can help the team to the win.”

There were plenty of highlights that came from Gonzalez’s play, too. The biggest one was perhaps getting a steal then finishing with a one-handed dunk. But his chase-down block also likely had Celtics fans dreaming about the future for the 19-year-old wing. It doesn’t hurt either that was his C’s debut with the main club.

The Celtics chose Gonzalez at 28th overall in this year’s draft, landing him from Real Madrid. He’s still a young product and didn’t play much in Spain last season considering he was suiting up for a contending squad. But the C’s liked what they saw from scouting him.

It’s unclear what the plan for Gonzalez will be throughout the upcoming season. In past years, the Celtics sent rookies to the G League to play for the Maine Celtics, allowing them to get playing time while learning their system. That was the case for last year’s first-round pick in Baylor Scheierman. That could be in Gonzalez’s future, but that’ll depend on how he plays. The early returns impressed as Gonzalez showed why the Celtics took him in the first round of the draft.

Gonzalez showed some mixed play during Summer League, though that’s expected from such a young prospect. Plus, Gonzalez had just finished up his season with Real Madrid, getting drafted the same night (or early hours) after his team won a title. For today, Gonzalez is soaking up whatever he can as the Celtics continue their preseason.

“If you defend, you’re able to run, everybody on this team wants to run once you have an open shot in transition,” Gonzalez said. “Going for dunks and everything. That’s what we’re looking for. As soon as we have the defense out there, we are able to run. We’re going to be really dangerous.”