Stop me if you’ve heard this before: it’s going to be a transition season for the Celtics. Jayson Tatum is on ice, multiple starters from the championship team have left, and this upcoming year has the feel of part tryout, part NBA season for Boston.
Everyone on the team will compete for the right to participate in the next iteration of a contending Celtics team. Sharpshooting forward Sam Hauser falls squarely on that bubble.
The 27-year-old’s contribution off the bench was crucial to hanging a banner in 2024. Perhaps no player exemplified Joe Mazzulla’s offensive philosophy more than Hauser, who never met a three-point shot he didn’t like. His value as a high-volume movement shooter who produces elite results netted him a four-year, $45 million extension with the club.
But it was a down season in many respects for Sam last year (more on that soon), and now he heads into an actual inflection point, not only for the Celtics, but for Hauser himself.
When I first wrote about Hauser in 2023, he was as pure a specialist as you can find — shoot ball, ask questions later. His talents as a shooter were beyond reproach, but he needed to make gains elsewhere to become more than a one-trick pony. During the championship year, Hauser improved his shot selection and fit in the offensive flow while taking strides as a defender.
Hauser’s specialist skills plodded on as usual last year. For the third season in a row, Hauser had a 98th percentile three-point rate while making at least 42% of his threes. Nothing could impede his shooting prowess. But he did take noticeable steps backward on film as a defender, especially in off-ball situations.
Hauser made a frequent habit of losing cutters, making bad closeouts, and switching poorly. It had a profound effect on Boston’s defense when he was on the floor. Of course, personnel changes and lineups can affect on/off stats, but the results are staggering. In 2023/24, Boston’s defense was 2.8 points per 100 possessions better with Hauser on the floor. In 2024/25, they were 3.4 points per 100 worse.
It is essential to highlight that he still put on some good on-ball tape. When engaged on the perimeter, Hauser did well at moving in short spaces and leveraging his size to make life difficult for ballhandlers. His strong side rim denial on drives stood out in particular.
However, regressing on defense is difficult to overcome. Hauser went from a +1.1 EPM player to a dead-even 0.0; his net rating dropped from +5.6 to +0.1. This came home to roost in the playoffs.
Let’s look at the playoff usage. During the title run, Hauser played in all 19 playoff contests, averaging roughly 15 minutes per game. He played 13 minutes per game in the first four games against the Magic in the first round before getting heavy run in a blowout Game 5. Then he played only four minutes in Game 1 against the Knicks, and didn’t see the floor again until Game 5, after Jayson Tatum was injured.
Some of this is context: the Celtics needed offensive firepower against an Orlando team that was spiritually from the 1980s, and a coherent defense against a deep and skilled New York team. However, it does indicate a decline in trust. Now more than ever, Boston needs stability at the forward spots. Can they count on Hauser to provide that?
I’m a nice guy, I’d like to think. I hope readers here, who are unfamiliar with my work, will come to feel the same way. So in the spirit of kindness, let’s indulge ourselves in some Shootin’ Sam highlights before I get to the critical points.
As you can see above, there are a lot of ways to get him involved other than “stand there and shoot it.” Lifts, pindowns, and elevators are designed looks they use often to spring him. He’s adept at relocating around the offense to create opportunities. Without Jayson Tatum, it stands to reason to assume Hauser will demand more usage as they attempt to recreate an All-NBA player in the aggregate.
Some of that will come as a screener. I enjoyed the sets Mazzulla deployed last year using Hauser as a cog in ghost screens, pick-and-pops, and layered Spain pick-and-roll actions.
I’d like to see more on-ball reps as well. Hauser, as a speed dribble handoff or guard-wing PNR option, carries some intrigue, as it did in flashes last season.
But these are shorter-term concerns for Boston. If Hauser can scale up offensively while maintaining elite shooting results, that could be a game-changer for Boston during this year. But his future with the team will be decided defensively.
If he can get back to his 2023/24 standard of not being the worst defender on the floor while contributing offensively, he reaffirms his place as a future part of the team. If he continues to struggle or regresses further, his spot on the 2026/27 team gets jeopardized. It’s distinctly possible that Hauser could be better than last year and find himself shipped out at the deadline or in the offseason.
Making a hair over $10 million in the first year of his extension, he’s a valuable trade chip as a sub-MLE priced specialist with value to any team. Boston may prioritize cap space in the 2026 offseason and find the three years and $35 million remaining on an average role player’s deal to be less than ideal.
No player is safe from the intense scrutiny the Celtics will apply internally. However, some of their players could replicate their production from last year and, without a doubt, live to see the next Tatum-centric iteration of the team. Hauser isn’t one of those guys. Despite Sam’s contributions, he’s one of the players who will face this crossroads.
