Every player has an off night, and many even go through cold stretches of games where they simply can’t buy a bucket. In those moments, the best players maintain their confidence and figure out how to quickly get back to the level that is expected of them.
If there’s one player on the Celtic’s roster that feels uniquely capable of busting out of a slump, it would be Sam Hauser.
Hauser has a massive sample of basketball in his career that reflects his elite ability as a shooter. In fact, you would have a very difficult time finding a season at any level of competition where he shot below 40% from behind the 3PT line. There are portions of a season though, where Hauser’s shot seemingly leaves him for a bit, before ultimately recovering.
His first real crack at NBA minutes came in his sophomore season, where he shot a scorching 42% from 3. During that season, Sam hit a cold spot during the chilly Boston winter. In December and January, he went 26/88 (30%) from deep. The struggles didn’t last very long, as he followed that up shooting 53/116 (46%) during February and March.
He kicked off the Celtics championship season going 3/15 (20%) from 3 in October, before knocking down 46 out of 100 in November. This year got off to an equally rough start, but the bounce back is coming quickly.
In his first eight games of the season, Hauser was sitting at a frustratingly low 29% from 3. For a player that lives by the next shot mentality, even Sam couldn’t hide his disappointment after the 7th consecutive miss of the evening on a wide-open look vs. the Nets.
An encouraging sign that this slump wouldn’t last long came a few minutes later in that same game against Brooklyn. With his team down by two late in the game, Hauser didn’t hesitate for a moment when the ball was kicked to his corner.
Having the confidence to shake off eight straight misses and still expect to knock down the next one gets even harder during a rough patch of games, but it’s part of what makes Hauser special.
His resurgence wasn’t immediate — following the Nets game up with a 1/5 outing vs the Bucks — and it hasn’t been filled with flashy 7+ 3PM games like we’ve seen in the past. It’s been more gradual and marked by consistency.
In the 12 games from November 11th and on, Hauser is shooting 42% from 3. He’s made 3+ shots from deep in 7 of those 12 games, something he accomplished 0 times in the first 8 games.
It’s important to note that Hauser’s rough start coincided with a back injury that he was working through, which even cost him a few games. From a health and conditioning perspective, he looks comfortable and sure in his movements on the court. The eye test says there’s more bounce in his step, too.
The 3PT efficiency has already been resurrected, jumping up to 37% after this recent stretch of consistency. That has somewhat masked the fact that he continues to sneakily expand other areas of his game, too. Hauser has been extremely effective this season inside the arc.
The sample size is still small, but Sam is currently shooting 19/24 (79%) from 2PT range. This isn’t some misleading stat where he’s making a ton of open layups, because a bulk of it is coming from self-creation while attacking closeouts.
There’s a whole other world of value to tap into if Hauser is going to fly around screens off-ball, beat Donovan Mitchell with the dribble, and finish around Evan Mobley at the rim with the left. With the threat of his jump shot always worrying defenses, attacking closeouts with confidence is a skill that could really be a boost for his offensive versatility.
There’s no expectation (or desire) for Hauser start waiving players off to dribble the air out of the ball, but having options makes him more unpredictable and possibly an even better fit than he already is for Mazzulla’s system.
With the shooting containing to stabilize, it won’t be long before Sam crosses back over that 40% threshold. If there’s a player on this team that’s not worth worrying about, history shows Hauser is probably that guy.
