There's going to be plenty of variables in how the Boston Celtics' upcoming season turns out. From how Paul George does in Jaylen Brown's place to seeing who among the Celtics' youngsters is ready for a bigger role. Among those, Boston knows exactly what they're going to get from Sam Hauser.
Can you believe this is, technically speaking, Year 6 of Sam Hauser? He technically started his career with Boston in 2021 and is now the longest-tenured Celtic not named Jayson Tatum or Payton Pritchard. Six years in, Hauser's game has more or less stayed the exact same way it has since he first joined them.
He's an elite three-point shooter who holds his own defensively and will occasionally get in the mix for offensive rebounds. He's among the higher-floor, lower-ceiling players on the roster. However, just because he may not have the same ceiling as, say, Hugo Gonzalez, doesn't mean Hauser isn't an important piece.
Sure, his potential isn't as exciting as Gonzalez or any of the other young wings developing on Boston's roster, but because Hauser is proven, he may very well still be counted on just as much as he has been for the past few years.
He proved exactly that in the Celtics' blowout preseason victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Hauser fits with what Celtics want to do
The other night, Hauser put up a ho-hum performance against the Sixers, nailing three threes while shooting four-for-six from the field. Just another Tuesday for someone like him. However, watching the game film and looking at the advanced stats, Hauser proved himself to actually to be more useful than meets the eye.
He finished with a plus/minus of plus-27, which is obviously a flimsy number, but when looking closer, he finished with a net rating of plus-55.6. The only two Celtics with higher net ratings were Pritchard and Neemias Queta. All of this points to how much better Boston was with him on the floor.
Okay, well, maybe the matchup worked in his favor. They were facing a heavily undermanned Philadelphia roster. As true as that may be, watching highlights of George's preseason debut, you'll notice how often the Celtics' turnovers with George on the floor involved Hauser.
Hauser's not a shutdown guy, but he is a smart defender, and you'll notice from some of these highlights that he and George together force some of the Sixers' turnovers that led to fast-break points.
It already works in Hauser's favor that, like George, he is a tall sniper from deep. However, if they show chemistry on both sides of the floor, it's going to be hard to justify not starting him alongside him and Tatum, who everyone knows Hauser plays phenomenal basketball next to. Hauser's not the most exciting Celtic, but being among the most proven may actually work in his favor when it's all said and done coming into this season.
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