The Boston Celtics have a lot of new faces this season.
They’re going to need them, too, given Jayson Tatum is out for most if not all of the year with his torn Achilles.
Two of those new guys, Chris Boucher and Hugo Gonzalez, are trending in the right direction.
On Friday night, Boucher put up 19 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes of preseason action against the Toronto Raptors.
Boucher has started twice in a row at power forward and has a chance at that job.
“He cares about winning, he cares about people, he takes pride in his work ethic,” head coach Joe Mazzulla told MassLive. “There’s few guys who take no plays off whether it’s at shootaround, or a game, and that guy is one of them. It’s impressive, 32 years old, to have the energy that he does on and off the court.”
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Boucher is in Boston on a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum, but his floor spacing and length could prove crucial.
Gonzalez was a pick late in the first round out of Spain.
MassLive’s Brian Robb writes that Gonzalez has made a case for rotation minutes despite being just 19 years old with no NBA experience.
The Celtics can still be a good team this season.
But maybe just as importantly, they can learn a lot about their depth pieces to know who can play a role in the future once Tatum is back.
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