Who?s your young guy breakout player for next season?

[radiohead]

Who takes the big leap? Queta? Baylor? Hugo? I?ll go out on a limb and say it?s Hugo. Joe just watched him have a great game for Spain in the FIBA qualifiers. He had like 16/5/5 and some stocks. His shot looks really smooth. And his passing is really topnotch. Hope this translates to the NBA game.

https://youtu.be/-z-1xrfkB_s?si=LtSDBGDMVhrz4Mr9

[Who]

Nobody.

That is pessimistic.

It is easier to be breakout guy when you are going to get more minutes / when the team is bad. Last year was a great chance for everyone. This year the team will have less opportunities.

I am expecting more "slow and steady" progress from the young wings & Queta rather than another breakthrough campaign.

If someone does have a breakthrough season, I'd guess Hugo or J Walsh. I don't think Baylor has much upside. Hugo or J Walsh = just adding a consistent jump-shot - even a below average but serviceable one - would give either guy a breakthrough campaign.

[Roy H.]

I don't see any big leaps.

[Phantom255x]

I'm gonna say Hugo or Baylor, although Hauser still being around might affect that. Mazzulla is definitely gonna give him real minutes which will eat into their potential minutes too

[Celtics2021]

Hugo Hugo Hugo.  We are sad about losing JB, but I would argue Hugo had a better rookie season.  JB took a nice jump in year 2 and became a starter and a crucial player in a conference finals run.  I look for Hugo to do the same.

[No Nickname]

Hugo Hugo Hugo.  We are sad about losing JB, but I would argue Hugo had a better rookie season.  JB took a nice jump in year 2 and became a starter and a crucial player in a conference finals run.  I look for Hugo to do the same.

For those of us who just don?t have the same optimism, can you share a few observations that give you this hope?

Not asking for stats, but if you have any relevant ones I?d be very interested in understanding what you see.

[Goldstar88]

Hugo and Baylor better be who Brad thinks they are.

[Celtics2021]

Hugo Hugo Hugo.  We are sad about losing JB, but I would argue Hugo had a better rookie season.  JB took a nice jump in year 2 and became a starter and a crucial player in a conference finals run.  I look for Hugo to do the same.

For those of us who just don?t have the same optimism, can you share a few observations that give you this hope?

Not asking for stats, but if you have any relevant ones I?d be very interested in understanding what you see.

Sure.  He is incredibly strong and athletic for his size and age.  He had a 41.5 inch vertical at the U-18s in the fall of 2024.  He is fearless in the court and plays with non-stop energy.  He knows where to be on the court and just makes solid plays, and his help defense is tremendous.  Assuming he qualifies with enough games, I think he gets all-defense votes.

Offensively, the shot is not awesome, but he was above league average from 2 and 3, so it is also not broken, and Hugo clearly puts in the work.  We will see a better shot this year.   I think long run we see him become more of a facilitator, and we will start to see flashes of that this year. 

He just has it.  Start him at the 2 and be rewarded.

The biggest stat is his net rating.  It was 8th in the NBA amongst qualified players (at least 58 games). 

[No Nickname]

Hugo Hugo Hugo.  We are sad about losing JB, but I would argue Hugo had a better rookie season.  JB took a nice jump in year 2 and became a starter and a crucial player in a conference finals run.  I look for Hugo to do the same.

For those of us who just don?t have the same optimism, can you share a few observations that give you this hope?

Not asking for stats, but if you have any relevant ones I?d be very interested in understanding what you see.

Sure.  He is incredibly strong and athletic for his size and age.  He had a 41.5 inch vertical at the U-18s in the fall of 2024.  He is fearless in the court and plays with non-stop energy.  He knows where to be on the court and just makes solid plays, and his help defense is tremendous.  Assuming he qualifies with enough games, I think he gets all-defense votes.

Offensively, the shot is not awesome, but he was above league average from 2 and 3, so it is also not broken, and Hugo clearly puts in the work.  We will see a better shot this year.   I think long run we see him become more of a facilitator, and we will start to see flashes of that this year. 

He just has it.  Start him at the 2 and be rewarded.

The biggest stat is his net rating.  It was 8th in the NBA amongst qualified players (at least 58 games).

Admittedly I didn?t see much of Hugo last year. But from your description he sounds a little like Josh Hart, who?s bball IQ, defense, and work-in-progress jumper are his best descriptors.

Is that accurate?

[Celtics2021]

Hugo Hugo Hugo.  We are sad about losing JB, but I would argue Hugo had a better rookie season.  JB took a nice jump in year 2 and became a starter and a crucial player in a conference finals run.  I look for Hugo to do the same.

For those of us who just don?t have the same optimism, can you share a few observations that give you this hope?

Not asking for stats, but if you have any relevant ones I?d be very interested in understanding what you see.

Sure.  He is incredibly strong and athletic for his size and age.  He had a 41.5 inch vertical at the U-18s in the fall of 2024.  He is fearless in the court and plays with non-stop energy.  He knows where to be on the court and just makes solid plays, and his help defense is tremendous.  Assuming he qualifies with enough games, I think he gets all-defense votes.

Offensively, the shot is not awesome, but he was above league average from 2 and 3, so it is also not broken, and Hugo clearly puts in the work.  We will see a better shot this year.   I think long run we see him become more of a facilitator, and we will start to see flashes of that this year. 

He just has it.  Start him at the 2 and be rewarded.

The biggest stat is his net rating.  It was 8th in the NBA amongst qualified players (at least 58 games).

Admittedly I didn?t see much of Hugo last year. But from your description he sounds a little like Josh Hart, who?s bball IQ, defense, and work-in-progress jumper are his best descriptors.

Is that accurate?

I have seen the Josh Hart comparison before, and yes, maybe the next year or two that is a decent comp, but I think he has a substantially higher ceiling.

[Goldstar88]

Hugo Hugo Hugo.  We are sad about losing JB, but I would argue Hugo had a better rookie season.  JB took a nice jump in year 2 and became a starter and a crucial player in a conference finals run.  I look for Hugo to do the same.

For those of us who just don?t have the same optimism, can you share a few observations that give you this hope?

Not asking for stats, but if you have any relevant ones I?d be very interested in understanding what you see.

Sure.  He is incredibly strong and athletic for his size and age.  He had a 41.5 inch vertical at the U-18s in the fall of 2024.  He is fearless in the court and plays with non-stop energy.  He knows where to be on the court and just makes solid plays, and his help defense is tremendous.  Assuming he qualifies with enough games, I think he gets all-defense votes.

Offensively, the shot is not awesome, but he was above league average from 2 and 3, so it is also not broken, and Hugo clearly puts in the work.  We will see a better shot this year.   I think long run we see him become more of a facilitator, and we will start to see flashes of that this year. 

He just has it.  Start him at the 2 and be rewarded.

The biggest stat is his net rating.  It was 8th in the NBA amongst qualified players (at least 58 games).

That?s a lot to ask of a player that averaged less than 4ppg last season. I think Hugo has potential, but he still has a long way to go in terms of development.

Pritchard and White will be the starting guards.

[SparzWizard]

Well, they better have a breakout year now that Brad didn't decide to include them as part of a package for Giannis.

Otherwise, they need to be crucified too. Yes, I'm talking about Hugo and Baylor.

[lbgreen33]

Funny, I don't think Hugo having a breakout season this year is not a reach at all. I think everyone on Celtics Talk would agree he had a breakout rookie season for where he was drafted.  Why wouldn't it be expected that he continues to build on that?

[Celtics4ever]

I hope it is Cenac.

[Vermont Green]

I get the focus on Hugo.  I love his upside.  I think he will be better than Josh Hart.  Just not next season.  He is only 20.  For this coming season, I predict improvement in Hugo, but not "break out" improvement.  I see his break out coming a couple more seasons out.

The player I am watching is Walsh.  He had stretches last season were he was playing like a solid starter.  His good stretches were much better than anything any of the other assorted wings were doing (Hauser, Scheierman, Hugo, Minott, and so on).  He showed there is something in there.  The question of course is can he sustain it.  He didn't last season, especially in the playoffs.  This is the season that maybe he can in my view.  He doesn't need to play way better than he ever has before (like you would be asking Hugo), Walsh just needs to play consistently at a level that he has already shown he can play at.