The Boston Celtics had plenty of standouts during the lone season in which they still played a high level of basketball despite not having Jayson Tatum. Sam Hauser was not one of them. Hauser didn't have a bad season statistically, but it was clear his impact on the team was mitigated by Tatum, someone Hauser thrived playing next to.
Well, four games into the season, it took no time at all for Hauser to show just how impactful he is when he plays next to Tatum. It's a short sample size for sure, but the Celtics are a plus-39.9 in net rating when Hauser is on the floor, which is the best on the team by a fair margin. He's been like the exact opposite of Mitchell Robinson.
A lot of that has been because his chemistry with Tatum has been in full effect. When those two share the floor, they share a plus-26.3 net rating together. That's par for the course for those two. From the very beginning of Hauser's time in Boston, his sharpshooting has meshed with Tatum's all-around abilities as a scorer and playmaker like chocolate and peanut butter.
But wait, you may say, they share such a high net rating, but the Celtics net rating with Hauser is even higher than that. What could be behind that? Well, one theory is that he also plays quite well next to Paul George. Even crazier is that, to start, those two play better together than Hauser and Tatum do.
Per that same metric, Boston's net rating with Hauser and George is a plus-43.5, which could explain why the Celtics' net rating with the former is as high as it is. Hauser is proving to be the perfect fit with Tatum and George.
That trio needs to play as much as possible together
It turns out having three players with similar builds who bring similar qualities to the floor actually thrives quite well together. Let's not kid ourselves here. Hauser individually is not on the same level as Tatum or George, but because he shares a similar frame and brings sharpshooting and stellar defense, having all three gives Boston quite the advantage when all three are on the floor.
When those three have been on the floor together, they share a net rating of plus-31.4, proving that the three of them have excellent chemistry with each other and, furthermore, that they need to be on the floor as much as possible.
Again, this all comes with the asterisk of a short sample size, but Hauser's history playing with Tatum proves why Boston plays him as much as they do. Of course, playing him more next to Tatum and George means someone else's playing time should be slashed.
The obvious candidate would be Jordan Walsh, but after he showed how useful he can be against Brooklyn the other night, here's a crazy thought: play all four of them together and let the madness begin!
In the early days of the season, it's all about mixing and matching. Seeing what works and what doesn't. It took no time at all for Hauser to prove that he works. Hence, Boston has every reason to see his advantages through.
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