BOSTON — In a Monday night loss against the Detroit Pistons, Hugo Gonzalez came in to close the third quarter for the Celtics — only to immediately get scored on, and subsequently turn over the ball. In response to the disappointing sequence of plays, the 19-year-old punched the Celtics’ bench in frustration, angered at his squandered opportunity.
Without missing a beat, Derrick White immediately rushed over to calm him down.
Four nights later, Gonzalez was equally emotional entering a timeout, only in a 129-116 win over the Miami Heat, emotions were overwhelmingly positive. He yelled out a joyful cheer as he headed to the bench after a sequence of winning plays, headlined by some big-time defensive stops. He clenched his fist and screamed in celebration after White (who finished with a season-high 33 points) sank yet another three.
When it was all said and done, the Celtics rookie logged a career-high in minutes (29) and rebounds (8) en route to one of his best NBA games ever. He successfully guarded Heat big men Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware — racking up two steals and a block — while scoring 10 points on 4-7 shooting.
“I just thought he was tremendous on both ends of the floor,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I think that’s who he has to be for us. Didn’t play perfect — but played with a level of energy, a level of awareness, and execution on the offensive end.”
One of Gonzalez’s steals led to a Sam Hauser three-pointer, and the rookie raucously celebrated as he ran over to the Celtics bench.
Gonzalez knows his emotions are a hallmark of his game — and it’s something he’s working through. But at the same time, the emotions are part of what drives his frenetic energy.
“I feel like I’ve always been a little bit too much emotional,” Gonzalez said. “That’s the way I am.”
“I feel the game a lot. When things are going great, I’m the first one that is going to going to go to you, try to hug you, whatever. And obviously, there’s the bad part also that I try to control as much as I can, like the other day. It’s always been like that. I’ve always been super emotional playing the game.”
Luckily for Gonzalez, he has teammates who understand. And, staying steady amid the highs and lows of an NBA game is a part of the player development process.
Oftentimes, it is Derrick White who uplifts Gonzalez after a mistake. White, a self-proclaimed emotional player himself, can relate to the feeling of chasing perfection.
“You want to be perfect, and when you’re competing and playing as hard as he is, you’re gonna make mistakes, you’re gonna maybe foul, whatever it might be, but you kind of beat yourself up for it a little too long,” White said. “So any chance I can [say] like, ‘All right, we got you next play, like, you’re doing a lot of great things for us. Don’t hang your head on that one play.‘ And so it’s definitely something that a lot of people battle through — just dealing with those failures and dealing with those mistakes.”
But, Gonzalez has learned that support can come from anyone — whether teammate or coach. Everyone understands that the rookie aspires toward perfection, and they work to help him stay out of his own head. Sometimes, that role is filled by a teammate ike Neemias Queta. Other times, it’s filled by Joe Mazzulla or another member of the staff.
“They do a great job of knowing that I’m hard on myself,” Gonzalez said. “And at some point, they always like cheering me up and telling me that I need to be focused on the next play.”
The Celtics rookie recognizes that his undying energy is something he’s ultimately going to have to harness; he racked up 4 fouls on Friday and has frequently found himself in foul trouble in the early days of his NBA career.
He attributes some of those struggles to playing with too much emotion: “Sometimes you gotta relax,” he said. “I gotta be better at reading the game. I got some fouls that weren’t going in the game plan, I think, and that weren’t silly fouls — it just was too much energy, too much excitingness.”
But in the meantime, as Gonzalez continues to figure out how to harness his love for the game for good, he’s grateful for the support he’s quickly found from his Celtics teammates.
“We got a great, super, good group as human beings,” Gonzalez said. “ We’re always gonna be together for each other, and whoever’s a little bit down, there’s always going to be somebody that’s going to take your shoulder, that’s going to get you under your wing and try to cheer you up.
“Everybody tries to have the back of each other. And that’s what makes us succeed.”
