This past offseason, there were multiple reports that the Celtics believed Sam Hauser could be ready to take on a bigger role. Naturally, there was some skepticism.
Hauser, now 24, was an undrafted free agent out of the University of Virginia. As a rookie last season, he got into 26 games and most of his minutes came in garbage time. He played more than 10 minutes in a game just five times.
It's starting to look like those reports were right, though. Hauser is in fact emerging as a key part of the Celtics' rotation, as the 6-foot-8 forward has played in all nine games and is eighth on the team in minutes. Part of that may be out of necessity after the C's lost Danilo Gallinari to a torn ACL, but a big part of it is that Hauser has earned it.
Hauser had his best game yet in Saturday's 133-118 win over the Knicks, scoring a career-high 17 points off the bench while shooting 5-of-8 from three. His five triples contributed to a franchise-record 27 on the night. For the season, he is now shooting a team-best 54.8% on threes.
After years of searching for more shooting off the bench, the Celtics now have three guys coming off the bench every night who can hit the long ball in Hauser, Grant Williams (53.8%) and Malcolm Brogdon (37.9%). It's a big reason the C's now lead the NBA in threes made per game and are fifth in three-point shooting percentage.
"Shoot 3s," coach Joe Mazzulla said Saturday night when asked what Hauser has done to earn more minutes.
Of course, there's a little more to it than that.
"No, listen, he just plays the right way," Mazzulla added. "He plays the right way, he knows how to play off the other guys, he can read defenses, he puts a lot of pressure on the defense. So it really helps our spacing. And he's continuing to work at getting better at his defense."
A lot of Hauser's minutes are coming with at least one of Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown still on the floor with the bench. Naturally, opposing defenses are keying on whichever star is on the floor, along with Brogdon as the leader of the second unit. Hauser serving as an outlet and being able to knock down his shots is crucial.
"Stretch the floor," Marcus Smart said of Hauser. "When you've got a knockdown shooter over there, it's tough. It's tough for you to help off somebody like him and try to help on Jayson and try to help on Jaylen and those guys and Malcolm and me coming down the lane. It just makes it that much easier for us. And then if they do stop us, you've got a guy that you know is going to knock it down. It really keeps the defense honest."
At the other end of the floor, Smart echoed his coach in noting how hard Hauser is working to improve defensively.
"We're proud of Sam, and not just for his offense, but the way he holds himself on the defensive end of the floor as well," Smart said. "We, and he also understands that a lot of people are gonna try to pick on him on the defensive end, but he's constantly working and his confidence is constantly going through the roof and playing great defense for us."
How Hauser holds up over the course of a full NBA season remains to be seen, but so far, he is certainly filling a need as a three-point-shooting forward off the bench.
