It’s fair to say it was a tumultuous offseason for Sam Hauser, who became a bit of a forgotten man in Boston. Last season ended in a very ugly fashion, with him having a brutal showing in the playoff loss against the 76ers, and Joe Mazzulla stubbornly refusing to dig a little deeper into his bench and look for a better matchup.
It felt worse than it was for Sam, and with guys like Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Hugo Gonzalez seemingly chomping at the bit on the bench, it felt like Hauser’s time in Boston was running out.
Hauser seemed like a lock to be traded in the offseason
He was a constant fixture in the trade machine, and with a very movable contract and the team’s plethora of young wings, dealing him almost seemed like a foregone conclusion. But then the Jaylen Brown trade happened, and the Celtics quickly filled the roster while staying a hair under the luxury tax, and all of the noise kind of went away.
Suddenly, there was no real urgency to trade Sam, and as we drifted closer to the season, it became clear that he wasn’t going anywhere and was going to stay an important part of the team’s rotation this season.
But perhaps I didn’t realize just how much he was going to be involved. Jordan Walsh has gotten the nominal starting job in both games so far, but Hauser has clearly been the main option off the bench, and the guy that Joe Mazzulla trusts the most. In Friday night’s victory over the Knicks, Joe shortened the rotation, playing Hugo just one 3-minute stint and Scheierman only 11 minutes.
Hauser playing more than Walsh/Scheierman/Gonzalez to start season
Meanwhile, Hauser logged 22 minutes, which was as much as anyone on the team outside of Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard. Sam only had 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, but he knocked down 2/5 threes, didn’t turn the ball over, and was tied for the team lead with a +8 on/off rating.
When the chips are down, Mazzulla has faith in Hauser, and he keeps showing that he wants his spacing and gravity on the floor more than anything that Walsh, Hugo, or Baylor bring to the table. As those guys continue to grow and develop, that may change, and this is obviously, thus far, a very small sample size to start a very long season.
But it’s still notable and fascinating to see that the more things change, the more they stay the same in some ways. Hauser’s game isn’t exactly sexy, but it’s as consistent as it gets. He doesn’t make mistakes, and his sharpshooting is a huge boon for the offense. Like it or not, it seems like he and his role are here to stay, and he’s going to play a large role for the Celtics yet again this season.
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