Sam Hauser Is the Celtics’ Most Underrated Player, and the Numbers Prove It

Sam Hauser was instrumental in the Boston Celtics closing out the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, helping turn a six-point deficit into a five-point win, going +11 in the clutch, while making just one three-pointer. He came down with two defensive rebounds in the final five minutes, stole the inbounds pass on Toronto’s last chance to tie the game, and put the game away at the free throw line.

“[It’s] a rare group of guys that score 20 points every night, so every guy has to find their role in different ways,” Hauser said. “Defense, rebounding, hustle plays, steals, blocks, whatever it might be, and knocking down open shots when they’re there.”

Hauser’s most notable moments this season have been hustle plays, like the one that helped reenergize his team against the Brooklyn Nets. He is the team’s cumulative +/- leader at +125. Other guys have grabbed the headlines because they’ve had much louder performances, but Hauser has quietly been making one of the biggest impacts on the team.

Hauser has gotten better at the little things out of necessity. He was undrafted, so when the Celtics came calling after the 2021 draft was over, he had to jump at the chance to take a two-way deal. From there it was pretty clear that no matter how good he was in the past, he was going to have to find a new way to impact games.

“That’s all trying to find your role in the NBA is,” Hauser said. “How do I first get on the court, and how do I stay, and how do I get better at my game?”

His shooting got him onto the court. The rest of the stuff, like going from a defensive liability to someone the Celtics can count on, is why he finds himself in clutch situations.

“He’s one of the better defenders we have on our team because he does a great job of taking away the number one thing and executes the game plan to a T,” Joe Mazzulla said. “He’s so detailed in taking away player tendencies and it’s something you don’t notice, but his defense is very solid and a great job.”

Mazzulla is challenging Hauser, and everyone on the team, to do even more this season. He has a roster full of naturally quiet, somewhat introverted personalities. So he’s put all of them in situations where they have no choice but to use their voices and communicate.

“I have seen a lot, experienced a lot, so, just trying to help younger guys,” Hauser, who is now in his sixth season with the Celtics, said Saturday morning. “I think naturally I’m [a] quieter, kind of like, lead by example type of person, so I think I had to kind of bring it out of myself a little bit at times. But overall, I think I’m getting better at it, and I know the coaches will tell me if I’m not.”

Hauser said the back issues that bothered him over the past few seasons are gone, a silver lining to the early playoff exits, which allowed him the rest he needed. He’s been able to do everything the Celtics have asked him to do, even if his minutes fluctuate. On this past road trip, he played 17:29 in Charlotte, 23:18 in Orlando, 17:41 in Philadelphia, and 24:22 in Toronto.

“He’s just a guy whether you start him, come off the bench, 18 minutes, 30 minutes, you want to create a bunch of guys who you know what you’re getting every single night,” Mazzulla said. “You want to try to get 10, 12, 15 of those. You don’t want to have just two or three. Sam’s on the list of, regardless what’s going on, you know exactly what you’re getting every night and that’s a testament to his professionalism.”

Hauser might not know how many minutes he’ll get every night, but the Celtics know what they’ll get from Hauser when he does take the floor. Mazzulla loves to talk about guys not being defined by one thing, and more than ever, that’s true of Hauser’s game.

“You’re just kind of taking what the game is giving you,” Hauser said before the team’s practice on Saturday. “Rebounding. Trying to make plays or trying to get deflections. Make shots. Whatever it might be. Like I’m not really motivated by scoring a ton of points. I’m motivated by helping the team win. Each night that’s something different for the most part.”

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