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For the first time since he was a sophomore in high school, Sam Hauser finished a season of basketball shooting under 40% from three. At 39.3%, we’re just shy of being able to morally round up, and thus a brilliant streak of shotmaking has come to an end.
Unfortunately, a close to his Celtics tenure may not be far behind.
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In many ways, Hauser had a strong season. He averaged career highs in points (9.2), rebounds (3.8), assists (1.5), and minutes (24.8). He also started in 49 games, which was more than his previous four seasons combined. He had a relatively slow start to the year, but played a genuine part in helping the team vaporize the gap year notion by April.
The second half of the season was particularly encouraging. Over his last 45 games, Hauser started 44 and averaged 10.5 points while shooting 40% from three. He had games of nine and eight made threes in the final month, operating in easily the most prominent role of his career.
Hauser held the starting gig into the playoffs, and was even their most efficient three-point shooter, knocking down 16/38 (42.1%).
The unfortunate truth is that even with his strong shooting performance, Boston was considerably worse with Sam on the floor in their first-round loss.
A -16.3 net rating swing is hard to wrap your head around, especially when it’s the offense that took the largest hit. The answer is in the shot location data.
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With Sam on the court, the Celtics attempted significantly fewer shots at the rim (16.9 frequency vs. 21.8 without him) and saw their three-point efficiency dip to 29.1%, compared to 38.2% in his absence. They leaned into far more midrange attempts as a result.
The explanation is not complicated. Hauser is a highly respected marksman, but he’s also third in the entire NBA in three-point attempt rate, with 83.9% of his field goal attempts coming from behind the arc. A team’s worries are limited to keeping vision on him and closing out hard. There is no true threat of a drive when the defense is in rotation — he finished the series with four shots at the rim.
None of this is meant to bury him. Hauser is a good…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/celticsblog-exit-interview-sam-hauser-094600009.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-22 09:46:00
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