Hugo González, the Real Madrid boy growing up: first start and the Celtics win

Hugo Gonzalez It is slowly picking up speed in the context of an irregular start to the season. Recently renewed for one more season -2027/2028-, the former Real Madrid player made his debut this season with the Boston Celticswho benefited from the effect of the always tireless forward to win on the Orlando Magic court (97-108).

The Spanish international 20 years He was also noticed this time on offense, leaving 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals in the 14 minutes he was on the court. The forward was 3/5 in field goals and 1/3 in triples.

Jayson Tatum He was a relentless leader for the Celtics with 32 points, followed by Paul George with 17 who emerged in the decisive moments to eliminate some feisty Magic. Without Paolo BancheroFranz Wagner was very erratic with 14 points after 5/20 shooting, but his compatriot Tristan da Silva and Anthony Black took a step forward with 23 points, both of which ended up being in vain.

Hugo González entered the quintet for Jordan Walsh in a Celtics that also brought in Neemias Queta in the starting five for the injured Mitchell Robinson. Walsh was not injured, but if there is a coach in the NBA who is unpredictable in his starting lineups and rotations, it is Joe Mazzulla. And in the same way that the peculiar coach started Hugo, he barely made him play in the last quarter and did not give him any minutes again in the first half after replacing him.

The number 28 of the 2025 draft again had minutes in the third quarter but, still, his good friend Baylor Scheierman -and at the same time his competition in the rotation-, ended up playing more than him with 20 minutes, in which he scored 10 points.

Perhaps, and contrary to what usually happens, the man from Madrid did not have his best day in defensive tasks despite being productive in attack, conceding the occasional triple and some penetration. At least, he was saved from appearing in all the highlights as a victim after Desmond Bane He missed the triple after leaving him on the ground. Hugo defended Santi Aldama’s former Memphis teammate for most of his time on the hardwood, where he was more inspired in attack.

The ’28’ started by missing his first two triples, but scoring the third gave him confidence in the offensive area. He left a two-way player sequence of his own, scoring a 2+1 in transition after forcing a steal from Franz Wagner and he dared to penetrate. In one action, he penetrated after feinting the triple, leaving Tristan da Silva, brother of the former Barça player, with an inch of his nose. Oscar da Silva.

In another play, the ’28’ showed new things in his repertoire, giving up on taking a dotted triple to surprise Anthony Black with a penetration after changing the handball and forcing the foul. The Real Madrid youth player has put a lot of emphasis this summer on improving his ball handling and the aforementioned detail is one that was seen a lot both in the Summer League and in the preseason.

At the moment, we miss that more proactive Hugo in attack who goes beyond waiting open in the corners. In the summer league and preseason, the Spanish international was seen bringing the ball up and generally getting more involved in the plays.

Logically, it goes without saying that the season is another story and Hugo González is at the service of others who simply due to hierarchy have to have the ball more in their hands like Tatum, George or Derrick Whiteauthor of 12 points.

Whether the Spanish forward assumes a more leading role in attack will depend on him, but also on Boston’s need to give him greater responsibility.

However, and within the normal ups and downs of every young player, the former real Madrid It grows little by little without stopping, contributing to these Celtics who are already marking territory in the East with their third place at 5-1. Some Celtics who have just renewed him and have just started starting. Hugo is progressing well.