It was the second night of a back-to-back for the Boston Celtics, and they were staring down the return of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hadn’t appeared in a game since January 23.
Not only that, but the Celtics were without Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta, the latter of whom put up 27 points and 17 rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night.
Yet, when the dust settled, Boston picked up a 108-81 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on the road.
1. Hugo Gonzalez on offense
Less than one minute into the game, Hugo Gonzalez crashed the offensive glass, beat three Bucks players to the ball, and drew a foul on Myles Turner.
That’s when everyone should have known what was about to happen.
Gonzalez was everywhere on Monday night. He never stopped moving, and the Bucks couldn’t keep track of him.
On the offensive end, that meant a few things. First and foremost, his dominance on the offensive glass. It was a product of relentless hustle and spatial awareness.
He knew where he needed to be and when he needed to be there.
But his spatial awareness applied in other ways, too.
Whenever the Bucks sent extra pressure, whether it was in the pick-and-roll, on a Nikola Vucevic post-up attempt, or otherwise, Gonzalez always seemed to find the open space on the court.
Occasionally, that showed up in off-ball cuts. And other times, all he had to do was float in and out of defenders around the three-point line, and the ball found him.
Here, the Bucks send two players at Derrick White on the drive, he kicks it out to Vucevic, who swings it to a wide-open Gonzalez.
Sometimes, the best spacing is knowing when not to move.
Gonzalez finished the game with 18 points, 16 rebounds (five offensive boards), and one assist while shooting 7-of-15 from the field and 3-of-8 from deep range.
He was everywhere on the offensive end, and somehow, he managed to match that intensity on defense.
2. Hugo Gonzalez on defense
For the amount of running Gonzalez did on offense, it would seem likely for him to be tired. Yet, when it came time to check up, he was guarding Antetokounmpo.
He was guarding Antetokounmpo full-court.
This didn’t always work out for Boston, and they brought Gonzalez back behind the halfway line at times, too, but he held his ground.
Gonzalez didn’t do it alone. The Celtics switched Vucevic onto Antetokounmpo when he got deep into the paint, and Jordan Walsh spent some time on him, too. In fact, Boston switched on Antetokounmpo a lot because they were always planning to send help.
But still, the fact that Joe Mazzulla trusted Gonzalez enough to give him the Antetokounmpo assignment to start the game should speak volumes.
Even here, on a play where Antetokounmpo gets the best of Boston’s rookie, Gonzalez still manages to spring up in a millisecond to get a hand in Antetokounmpo’s face and contest the shot.
And when he wasn’t guarding the two-time NBA MVP, he was sprinting around the court seeking out turnover opportunities.
Gonzalez ended the game with three steals and two blocks.
3. Luka Garza was back like he never left
For the first time in weeks, Luka Garza played rotational minutes.
When the Celtics traded for Vucevic, they experimented with some double-big lineups, but for the past few weeks, Garza has fallen out of favor. Queta has been the starter, and Vucevic has been the backup. That’s it.
But with Queta sidelined, Garza got some minutes off the bench for Boston on Monday night. And he didn’t miss a beat.
The King of Offensive Rebounds pulled down seven in just 19:51 of action.
Garza just tries harder on the offensive glass than anyone else. He wants it more. And a lot of the time, that’s all it takes.
And he’s never satisfied. Even on the play above, he was mad at himself for missing the and-one opportunity (after beating out two Bucks players for the board).
That’s the hustle Mazzulla loves to see.
Garza ended the game with seven points, 10 rebounds (seven offensive boards), and one assist while shooting 3-of-6 from the floor (with no three-point attempts).
4. Nikola Vucevic, the passer
It wasn’t perfect. He had four turnovers. But Vucevic very clearly has the potential to be an integral part of Boston’s offensive process for the remainder of the season.
Why? Because he does what few other players on the roster can do on a consistent basis: Bring
