Brooklyn -- Joe Mazzulla preaches to the Boston Celtics that players are not defined by one trait. They bring more to the game, to the locker room, and to the team's work environment. In Tuesday's tilt against the Brooklyn Nets, Sam Hauser served as a prime example.
The six-foot-eight sharpshooter is an effective on-ball defender. He's still underrated at that end of the floor. He has the strength to defend drives with his chest, absorbing the contact and keeping his arms extended. He has the mobility to stay with and in front of the myriad of perimeter players that target him on a switch, thinking they'll get a chance to dip into their bag. Hauser also does an excellent job of contesting shots without fouling.
Beyond his ability to deter shots and stifle individuals who end up turning the ball over or clanking a fadeaway from the mid-range, he does a good job of swooping in for offensive rebounds on long misses. And if he can't corrall the ball, he's reliable at tipping it out to give Boston a chance to extend the possession.
There's more he brings to the table, but focusing on what he demonstrated in Tuesday's 113-99 victory at the Barclays Center, it wasn't his shooting that Mazzulla pointed to when discussing how Hauser "changed the game."
"I thought his defense was great, I thought his rebounding was really good, and he had a big-time steal at half court that I thought kind of changed the game," the Celtics' bench boss told Hardwood Houdini.
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Hauser finished with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists, and that aforementioned steal in a well-rounded performance against Brooklyn. That earned him 22 minutes of floor time. He played nearly the entire final frame, not subbing out until there were 18 seconds left and the outcome already determined.
Sam Hauser maintains proper perspective
The fifth-year forward has shot over 40 percent from behind the arc every season of his career. However, he entered Tuesday's matchup shooting 32.9 percent from three-point range on 6.1 attempts. That played a role in him only playing seven minutes in an 0/3 display in Sunday's 121-118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
No one is immune to slumps. Hauser has dealt with them before. It's about how one handles it. He knocked down 3/7 shots, including 2/5 threes against the Nets. However, not getting caught up in one aspect of how he impacts the outcome was the key to his success in a victory that brought Boston, now 8-7, over .500 for the first time in this campaign.
"It's a credit to him," Mazzulla told Hardwood Houdini post-game. "We all know that he's been in a little bit of a shooting slump, but he's not defined by that."
"Just be a basketball player. I guess, at the end of the day, you might be here for one specific trait. You might be really good at it, but how can you impact your team [in] a different way when that trait's not to its normal standard?" voiced Hauser to Hardwood Houdini after the win. "Just be a basketball player."
Spending most of Sunday's win as a spectator wasn't easy. However, he maintained a healthier outlook, putting the team first. That helped him process seeing his minutes go elsewhere.
"Yeah, of course, it's hard," said Hauser of dealing with that challenge on a team whose depth is a source of strength. What that means is that if someone gets an opportunity and capitalizes, Mazzulla is inclined to ride the hot hand. Conversely, if someone doesn't make the most of their minutes, it's easier to go in another direction.
For a rotation fixture like Hauser, that requires adapting to this new reality in real-time.
"Roll with the punches and take advantage of the time you are out there and still try to help the team win," he expressed post-game. "Try to be external, and don't be internal. It's hard in the moment," Hauser acknowledged.
"Don't think about yourself. Think about the team first. You think about yourself, then your head's not in the right place. And yeah, I mean, it's going to be a lot of that this year, I feel like. Just changing lineups, rotations, just trying to figure out what works."
It all comes back to, as Hauser stated, "making most of the time you're out there." Trusting his head coach, maintaining proper perspective, not being self-absorbed, and preparing to capitalize on his minutes, with more than just his shooting, is how he and the rest of the team can maximize the chances that come their way.