In a game of Celtics word association, me saying “Sam Hauser” would probably get you to say “shooter” or “3-pointers.” It’s the most obvious thing he is known for. But Hauser continues to be more than that for Boston.
“He's a basketball player,” Derrick White said after Boston’s easy win over Washington. “He just does a great job for us. Sam's a great player.”
Shooting has always been the reason he’s in the NBA. After his 4-7 night from deep against the Wizards (and Payton Pritchard’s 4-11) Hauser has moved into a slight team lead in 3-point shooting percentage. He’s up to 41.2% shooting from 3, one of the best in the league but actually the lowest percentage of his career if the number holds (his percentages, in order, have been 43.2, 41.8, and 42.4 in his first three seasons).
You have to be a damn good shooter for 41.2% to be the lowest percentage of your career. And when you’re as good as Hauser is, that's going to draw some attention from the defense.
“Obviously, guys don't want him shooting catch and shoot 3s, so they're going to run into his body and run him off the line,” Joe Mazzulla said. “And that creates a two-on-one and he works tirelessly on that. So, obviously everyone knows he's a great shooter, but he's not defined by that.”
Hauser has shown himself to be a more complete player these past two seasons, growing more comfortable attacking closeouts and creating for himself and others. Even if the stats don’t end up in his row of the box score, Hauser’s ability to get past the initial defender creates openings for everyone.
“I think he just added, like, his midrange. I'm shocked when he hits the rim, like he's just unbelievable,” White said. “And then obviously defensively, he gets attacked a lot, but we got a lot of faith in him, and he competes at a high level. And rebounding and stuff like that, using his size.”
The rebounding has stood out over the past couple of games. He had a season-high eight against the Wizards and five against Phoenix.
“(I’m) just trying to impact winning,” he said “I think earlier in the year we kind of struggled on the rebounding aspect, and after All-Star we’ve been really good, and that’s been a point of emphasis for the coaching staff and us. If we’re gonna go far in the playoffs again we’ve got to rebound and win that margin of the game.”
It’s easy to forget sometimes that Hauser is 6-foot-8, so his getting up for some rebounds shouldn’t be too shocking. But because he’s seen as a one-trick pony, the other things he does on the floor can look out of place. His most effective tool is catching and shooting, but doing all the other stuff is what keeps him on the floor for longer periods.
“Behind the scenes you’re working on a lot of different things,” he said. “When you have a chance to do something different you have to be ready to do it. And tonight was a good example of some things like catching off the dribble and driving and when you have some guys out there it provides more opportunity for that. When you have a full roster I feel like our roles are pretty clear-cut, black-and-white about what we’re supposed to do and how we help the team the best way, and you just try to star in your role.”
Players like Hauser are in an interesting position. Starring in your role for a championship team is a great way to get money and attention around the league. He signed a $45 million contract extension that starts next season, but changes could be coming to Boston. At the same time, he’s not indispensable and his contract is very tradeable. So his role now might not be his role next season, or the season after that.
Even if the team wants him to do certain things, he still has to try to grow his game as much as possible to be ready for whatever is coming down the road.
“I feel like if your team has success and you have a role in that, I feel like that’s good for everybody individually,” he said. “In terms of looking out for yourself, obviously you want to develop as a basketball player, too. It could be little things like a team is running you off the line, what are you gonna do now? Is it a pull-up jumper? Is it a drive-and-kick? It might not be like I’m gonna do a three-dribble iso move here. To me it’s more reading a close-out, whether it’s a shot, a rip, a drive or a shot-fake and get to something else. I feel like you have to take what the game gives you sometimes as well.”
That part of the conversation will be had at another time. For now, a more well-rounded Hauser is a luxury for Boston. The fact that he’s more than just a specialist now helps Boston in a lot of ways. The more attention Hauser draws means less attention that is paid to other star players, which opens things up for everyone.
The Celtics are a well-oiled machine. They know what they need from Hauser. But if they can get all these extra things at the same time, then they become that much harder to beat.
