BOSTON—Sam Hauser had one of his best shooting nights of the season on Friday night during the Celtics’ win over the Raptors. However, Joe Mazzulla had one area that needed to be highlighted that came during a pivotal defensive sequence for the sharpshooting forward.
“RJ Barrett has been playing well,” Mazzulla said. “Sam started on him, guarded him almost the entire game. Most times, RJ Barrett’s in that transition situation, it leads to a foul or an and-one. Sam took a great angle, got a steal, kind of led to a play for us, did a great job keeping him off the free-throw line. I think everyone always sees Sam’s shooting, but his defense is top-notch, and he has the ability to focus on a guy and take tendencies, and I thought he was great defensively tonight.’
The play capped off a terrific two-way performance for the 28-year-old who finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in the 125-117 win. Barrett had an inefficient shooting night (6-of-15) before he left the game early in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury but Hauser (7-of-10 shooting, 5-of-7 from 3-point range) provided consistent firepower in Boston’s red-hot starting five. All five players scored in double digits, picking apart a Raptors defense that had been one of the best in the NBA for the past month.
Hauser began the season in that starting group but was pulled after an 0-3 start that featured a slow shooting start and rebounding woes. The veteran saw his minutes fluctuate for much of October and November amid flashes of potential from Boston’s other wings but as Jordan Walsh and Josh Minott saw their roles reduced, Hauser has re-entered the equation ready to take advantage.
He’s averaging 10.5 points per game while starting his last four games while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range. His minutes have increased to 25.8 per game in that stretch with a net rating of +8.8 that includes a plus-23 on Friday night.
Boston’s offensive efficiency is 133.7 points per 100 possessions in those last four Hauser starts, which is 10 points better than the second best team in the league (Wolves) during that stretch.
With Boston’s offense now moving into the top spot in the NBA, it’s looking more like Hauser may re-establishing himself as Joe Mazzulla’s most reliable wing to put next to Jaylen Brown until Jayson Tatum returns.