Sam Hauser had a rough playoff run; there’s no way to sugarcoat it. The 76ers were a tough matchup for Sam, attacking him with up-and-down speed and athleticism. He struggled to get his shot going, and Joe Mazzulla stubbornly stuck with him in the starting lineup (until Game 7), which only made things worse.
He became a bit of a punching bag and a scapegoat, as he was the on-court embodiment of Joe going down with the ship and refusing to make major adjustments before it was too late. But that was always unfair to pin on a solid role player, and this season, he’s primed to flip the narrative on its head.
With all the drama of this offseason, Hauser has become a bit of a forgotten man. After the way the playoffs ended, and given his very movable contract, it felt like a foregone conclusion that he’d be the odd man out and end up traded. But then the Jaylen Brown trade happened. Free agency went by. The team got under the tax.
And all the while, Sam was still on the roster. The new additions like Paul George and Mitchell Robinson have gotten lots of attention. The incumbent stars expected to take leaps, like Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White, have gotten plenty of attention. And the young guys who will have more opportunities, like Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh, have gotten plenty of attention.
Hauser primed for career year in Mazzulla-Ball scheme
Meanwhile, Hauser is flying completely under the radar. He may or may not keep his starting job, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s still the best shooter on the Celtics and almost never turns the ball over; that's going to earn him a hugely important role as the team leans fully into Joe Mazzulla’s offense.
Hauser will be tied to elite creators in Tatum, White, and Pritchard frequently, and when those guys run the offense, Sam has thrived. He’s going to provide impeccable floor spacing and balance, and with the other options out there, the team’s relentlessness on the offensive glass, and depth of shooting around him, Hauser could easily have a career year.
He’s going to get easy shots galore in this offense, and the kick-outs for open second-chance looks from beyond the arc should be constant. I wouldn’t say Hauser’s defense has been a liability, but going from a poor off-ball defender in Jaylen Brown to one of the best and smartest team defenders in George, and adding another rim protector in Robinson, is going to make Sam even less of a liability on that end.
Everything is setting up for a bounceback season for the Celtics after their playoff loss, and for Hauser as well. He has gotten a bad rap, but he still provides an elite skill and a very valuable one, and like it or not, he’s going to play a big role for this team. My bet is that he’ll ably fill that role and perform as well as he ever has.
Add us as a preferred source on Google