The Celtics are often lauded by opposing coaches for their consistency, even when missing important players. Ahead of Monday night’s 114-108 win over the Jazz, Will Hardy was the latest to praise them.
“They’re elite on both sides of the ball, and it doesn’t matter who plays or doesn’t,” Hardy said. “They very clearly have an identity.”
The Celtics know they have an exceptionally deep roster, and when key players are sidelined, others are ready to step up. Just last week, with Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jayson Tatum out, Payton Pritchard erupted for a career-high 43 points, acknowledging afterward that it could’ve been anyone in his place.
“Tonight could have been Sam Hauser’s night, and he hits 10 to 15 threes. D-White, that’s what he does. JB, he could have 50,” said Pritchard. “I don’t go into any night thinking, ‘It’s my night.’ You read the game, and the ball ended up finding me. Next game, the ball might not find me at all, but, how am I going to impact the game? That could be with rebounds and assists. Obviously, if I get shots, I gotta be ready to hit them. But every night is a different look, so you just got to be prepared for it.”
Less than a week later, he was proven right. With Tatum, Porzingis, and Al Horford sidelined on Monday night, Sam Hauser slid into the starting lineup and became the fourth Celtic in a week to set a new career-high, scoring 33 points, and the fifth to score 30 or more points in a game.
A shorthanded win over the 15-50 Jazz in March will soon be forgotten, especially sandwiched between matchups with the Lakers and Thunder, two Western Conference contenders. But don’t tell Joe Mazzulla that any game holds less weight than another. For him and the Celtics, it’s all about their commitment to the process. It’s that identity—the one opposing coaches consistently praise—that makes every game matter. To Mazzulla, this win was as crucial as any, and without Hauser’s breakout, the narrative could have been entirely different.
After one of the dullest halves of the season, Hauser, who had shot just 2-of-8 from the field and 1-of-6 from three in the first half, exploded for 23 points in the third quarter, outscoring the entire Jazz team 23-22. He drained seven threes at a 70% clip, setting a franchise record for most triples in a single quarter, surpassing the previous mark of six—a record he shared with six other Celtics. His 23-point third quarter was the highest-scoring quarter by a Celtic this season.
“There is no shot that he shoots that we think is a bad shot,” said Mazzulla. “So I think it was great that even when he was [shooting] one-for-seven, the team was still looking to find him. And I thought he was great in that third quarter. But to me, I think he’s a straight shooter. He understands his work ethic. He does the same process every day, whether he does this or whether he goes one-for-seven. The work that he puts in with the player development team, and just his overall approach, is high level and very professional.”
Hauser’s big quarter gave the Celtics the cushion they needed. Although the Celtics let go of the rope, squandering a 23-point fourth-quarter lead after a 34-11 Utah run tied the game at 103, Utah never took the lead, and when they were threatening, Hauser delivered one of the biggest shots of the night—a 27-foot pull-up three with 1:20 left, pushing the lead back to eight and effectively sealing the win. Fittingly, it was his eighth three-pointer of the half, setting a new franchise record for any half.
“It was kind of a tale of two halves. But once you see a couple go in, the rim gets a little bit wider for a shooter. You just try to keep letting it fly,” said Hauser. “A lot of us do a really good job of whoever is hot, trying to find them and give them a couple more up.”
Hauser became the seventh different Celtic to lead the team in scoring this season. With his big scoring night, the Celtics advanced to 20-6 when missing two or more of their top-six (White, Holiday, Brown, Tatum, Horford, Porzingis).
“It’s just a sign of a well-balanced team. Regardless of who’s in and who’s out, we have a responsibility to win, and the guys do a great job of stepping up,” said Mazzulla. “But as great as it is to have guys that are able to do that – It’s guys that support each other in doing that. I’m happy for Sam tonight and agree with Payton’s perspective. Whoever is out there has a responsibility to win.”
The Celtics understand that responsibility. On any given night, someone is ready to step up and fill the void. It’s what championship teams do—they stay true to their identity and find a way to win. And with their exceptional depth, the Celtics have shown time and again that they can do just that.
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