Karalis: Another game, another supporting cast steps up, but Gonzalez stands out

Teams never want to be without their best player, but also, missing someone important can sometimes be a spark a team needs to make sure they're focused. Without Jaylen Brown, who missed his second game of the season with an illness, the Celtics were in that position as they flew into Toronto for a back-to-back matchup against an always pesky Raptors team. 

“I thought the guys had great preparation in walkthrough today and in the film room,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters after beating the Raptors. “Even though we won yesterday, we were able to take away where we had to get better today, and I think that started with the guys’ preparation. And then, it’s having 12, 13 games who can impact the game in any way.” 

The Celtics depth makes every game a version of the Price Is Right “Race Game,” where the contestant has to match four price tags to four prizes in 45 seconds. Mazzulla gets 48 minutes, and has to run back and forth to find which players match the weaknesses the opponents are showing. 

“Before the season, we said we had the depth, it was just a matter of how they were going to impact. It wasn't a matter of if they could, it was in what way,” Mazzulla recently said. “What we call our depth is our ability to just play differently and impact the game in different ways, whether it's some guys on defense, whether it's some guys rebounding, crashing, some guys on the offensive end. It’s allowed us to take advantage of the entire roster.” 

That sounds good, but it’s not the easiest thing in the world for a basketball team. There's a reason most teams try to go eight or nine deep. It’s an optimal number for a good team, allowing the best players to get appropriate minutes while getting good players off the bench a nice amount of time on the floor to keep them happy, and the stars rested. 

The Celtics, obviously, are in the process of building a roster that can do that. For now, the 12 or 13 guys have to understand that a game or two … or five, or eight … with little to no playing time doesn’t mean another chance isn’t around the corner. 

Luka Garza has been DNP-CD in seven of Boston’s last 11 games, and the four he played weren’t exactly meaningful minutes. It’s been about a month since he’s played double-digit minutes. Suddenly, he got the call early in the first quarter against the Raptors. 

“I got a lot of respect for Luka,” Mazzulla said after the win. “It's really a credit to the player development staff, Luka, to just staying ready and just trusting our process of winning. And  he came out, I thought he changed the game in the stretch that he played with his physicality,  and his offensive rebounds. I thought he helped us come out as the more physical team tonight.”

Garza quickly grabbed four offensive rebounds, and he gave Boston extra possessions simply by attacking the glass and drawing fouls. When the starters, outside of Payton Pritchard’s brilliance, looked slow and sluggish, Garza and a bench mob subbed in en masse to change the tenor of the game. 

Part of that group was Hugo Gonzalez. He did struggle with Brandon Ingram for a bit, and his three early foul delayed the majority of his impact.  

“(It’s) finding the balance of knowing how to be super aggressive versus defending without fouling so we can keep you on the floor,” Mazzulla said. “You don't want to take that away because of his instincts and his ability to just make plays on both ends. But he's got a great knack for the ball defensively, and he's learning how to play versus different matchups and coverages on the offensive end.” 

All fouls aren’t created equally, so the Celtics will live with those that will more often than not result in turnovers. The key for Gonzalez is figuring out when to be aggressive and when to recognize the opponent gathering and switch gears to simply challenging the shot. 

“I feel like with me, I always try to follow my instincts,” Gonzalez said after beating Miami Friday night. “Whenever I see I have an opportunity to make a play, I try it. Obviously it’s not going to happen every time. We just try to follow it. That’s the way I am at the end of the day. I try to make a play and try to follow my defensive instincts to get a steal or get a block or be in the right spot or whatever. And sometimes it’s getting wrong. I just need to try that it happens more times that we succeed.”

In the second half at Scotiabank Arena, Gonzalez honed his instincts and started making big plays to seal a Boston win. He got a block and a steal in less than a minute as the Raptors were trying to walk down Boston’s double-digit lead. His monster dunk, and even louder celebration, made sure Toronto got never did. 

“That's a skill, being able to play that hard,” Mazzulla said of Gonzalez Friday night. “I think we have a bunch of guys that understand that on our team. He's one of them. … Not everybody can do that and play at the level of consistency.”

It’s a pretty safe bet that whenever the Celtics can go back to relying on nine guys instead of 12 or 13 that Gonzalez, who currently leads all rookies in the NBA in +/-, will still be part of the rotation. He is undoubtedly a draft hit already for Brad Stevens, and he’s proving to be a long-term part of the Celtics’ success.