Sam Hauser gives update on injury that held him out of Celtics vs. Wizards

The Boston Celtics pulled out their second win of the season on Thursday night, defeating the Washington Wizards 122-102 and moving to 2-0 on the year. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White led the way as Jordan Poole failed to carry a young and rebuilding Washington squad. And they did it without one of their core rotation members—Sam Hauser.

Hauser joined Kristaps Porzingis on the injury report for the evening. The Celtics forward appeared in the team’s Opening Night win over the New York Knicks, but ahead of their game in Washington, he had some back issues flare up.

It’s a problem he’s been dealing with for a little while.

Sam Hauser has been dealing with back issues for months

Before the game on Thursday, Hauser caught up with reporters and explained the ailment, noting that the issue has persisted for the past few months.

“It’s just something that’s kind of flared up,” Hauser said. “Kind of dealt with it on and off throughout the summer and preseason. So, just try to manage it as best I can and go from there.”

He cited that there was no specific moment that the issue occurred, even stating that there weren’t any issues in Boston’s game against New York on Tuesday.

“No moment,” Hauser said. “Just kind of woke up in the morning and didn’t feel very good, and now we’re here.”

Hauser also revealed that he has no idea how long the injury will keep him out for. “I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see.” However, Hauser was initially listed as questionable against the Wizards, so the issue doesn’t seem to be too severe.

Last season, Hauser was one of the Celtics’ most important rotation members, as he evolved into one of the league’s premier three-point shooters.

With Porzingis scheduled to be sidelined until around the end of the calendar year, Boston will need all hands on deck, and that includes Hauser. That said, they have enough depth to where Hauser shouldn’t feel the need to rush back.

Against Washington, Joe Mazzulla went to his array of big men. Xavier Tillman, Luke Kornet, and Neemias Queta all got significant run, while wings and guards like Jordan Walsh and Jaden Springer remained on the pine until garbage time.

Queta’s big night on the offensive glass and Tillman’s pair of triples were enough to make up for Hauser’s absence, and Payton Pritchard draining five three-pointers helped, too.

Boston’s next game is on Saturday against the Detroit Pistons.