Los Celtics They passed like a steamroller through the Capital One Arena de Washington: 146-101. A predictable victory seeing the rising level of Boston and the disaster that is the capital's franchise. But that game remains like the night in which Hugo Gonzalez He broke his barriers in the NBA.
The Madrid native He went to the shower with 14 points – his previous high was seven – and five rebounds. A brilliant performance after fighting an internal battle for three quarters of the game, which changed when his coach, Joe Mazzulla, He picked him up, looked him in the eyes and asked him to forget about the wars with his other self.
Hugo González: blockbuster and 14 points with the Celtics
“I think there have been some moments in which I have been playing more against myself than against them. Statistically it may be the best game, but I think there have been others in which I have helped the team win more, which is the important thing,” Hugo explained to MARCA in the Celtics locker room.
When talking about that moment when his coach asked him to calm down and change the way he approached the game, Hugo He valued what he has at his side: “I have already said it once: I am lucky to have a staff that helps me a lot and that looks after me as a player without stopping demanding myself. I knew that I could do much better than what I was doing up to that moment and I am very grateful for pushing me at any time to be the best version of myself.”
I am lucky to have a staff that helps me a lot and looks out for me as a player without stopping demanding myself.
That step forward for the second youngest player to debut with the United's shirt Celtics (19 years and 263 days, times 19 and 228 days of Jayson Tatum) It comes in an accelerated learning process. “In the end, more or less the same thing is played in a game, but the issue is that we do it in a more condensed period of time. Sometimes the tute that you hit is complicated, but in the end all the teams do it and you have to be on top of it. Knowing that the other teams are also tired sometimes and that benefits you. It is a tug of war that at some moments favors you and at other times harms you. You just have to have the mentality of the next game,” he points out about his adaptation to the NBA.
Hugo González's best offensive game with the Celtics: this is how he scored his 14 points
That is part of everyday life. He is clear about what he enjoys and suffers on the field: “There are very physical players. Apart from being the best in the world, there are a lot of very powerful specimens. Simply how it is played, the physical power, the level of contact that is allowed… is also something different…”.
Hugo González's first big night in the NBA
His arrival to the NBA is to play in the most successful team, the one that has more titles (18). And the one who has been continental champion the most times left Europe: Real Madrid and its 11 Euroleagues/European Cups. “I can say that I am a lucky person: to fall, when I was little, into the Real Madrid and now being in the Celtics. I have been very lucky. Of course there are parallels. In the end, what is asked above all is the demand to win, the demand to go out and compete in every game and play not only for yourself, but for the shirt you wear,” says Hugo.
Today, the Lakers and Doncic
With three wins in a row, the Celtics will seek to win four in a row for the first time this season tonight. The rival will be the Lakers LeBron y Doncic. The NBA Classic. “When you're a child, apart from seeing it from afar, it excites you. It's the most high-profile game in the entire NBA. I approach it very excited and looking forward to it.”
A player like Luka, who cannot stop himself, can try to slow him down at most.
Before him will be Doncic, a great challenge for a player who is leaving the mark of a great defender in the NBA. “In the first year that I entered the quarry, I was very young. It was the year in which he became MVP of the Euroleague and won the Euroleague with the Real Madrid. The rest is history,” says Hugo, who avoids the challenge of face to face with Luka: “It would mean that they trust me to do that type of task. A player like Luka, who by himself cannot stop, can try to slow him down at most. But hey, we would be there to make things difficult for him if the case arises.”
Selection hunger
Despite the speed with which he lives in the NBA, Hugo was attentive last week to the premiere of Chus Mateo with the selection. He is hungry for ÑBA, of the Family. “I really want to go with the national team, of course, and to have an important role. To return with those who I was in the technical staff windows, as well as with the new ones – or not so new for me – like Chus, Paco and Guillewith whom I shared a year at Real Madrid. Desire to be there, to be important and to help the team. Whether or not I can be there in July is something that will have to be seen according to the calendar.”
