The ankle sprain that sent Hugo Gonzalez to the locker room Tuesday night in Philadelphia proved to be no more than a scare.
The Celtics rookie did not re-enter his team’s 102-100 loss to the 76ers, but he was cleared to play Wednesday night against the Grizzlies after initially being listed as probable.
“He’s good to go,” Mazzulla said before tipoff at TD Garden, adding that Gonzalez would not have a minutes restriction
Gonzalez’s six minutes against Philly were his fewest in a game since Oct. 29. After being a healthy DNP in Boston’s season opener, the 19-year-old quickly emerged as a regular contributor for Boston, providing jolts of energy and defensive tenacity off the bench.
Despite Gonzalez’s lack of NBA experience, Mazzulla often has tasked him with guarding the opponent’s No. 1 scoring option. The 6-foot-6 wing entered Wednesday with the third-best defensive rating (104.5) among all rookies averaging at least 10 minutes per game this season.
Gonzalez also led all Celtics players entering Wednesday in steals per 36 minutes (2.5), and he’s drawn three offensive fouls, tied for second-most on the team behind Derrick White’s eight. Offensively, he came in with a team-best 50% 3-point field-goal percentage on limited volume (5-for-10 this seaosn).
“I think he’s in that same category as Jordan (Walsh) and Josh (Minott) … and the guys that have the responsibility and the expectation to defend the other team’s best player at a high level, whether it’s their three possessions or an entire game or quarter,” Mazzulla said. “So I think as a young guy, he’s ahead of the curve on his defensive instincts, which you don’t see a lot (from) young guys coming into the league. His defensive instincts are top-notch, his effort is top-notch and he’s a defensive playmaker, so he’s just got to keep getting better at those”.
Memphis’ primary option typically is Ja Morant, but the two-time All-Star point guard was ruled out for Wednesday’s matchup with ankle soreness. The Grizzlies also were without starting center Zach Edey (ankle) and reserves Ty Jerome, Scottie Pippen Jr. and Javon Small.
The Celtics had their full roster available outside of Jayson Tatum, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from Achilles surgery.
