We’re struggling to remember the last time a Sam Hauser 3-pointer touched anything but the net. It certainly didn’t happen on Wednesday night against Indiana, with all five of Hauser’s triples finding nothing but twine.
Hauser nearly matched the Celtics’ single-game record for 3-pointers last Saturday in Atlanta before hilariously getting snagged on 10 makes, and misfiring on six energy-drained attempts before coach Joe Mazzulla mercifully ended his night in a lopsided win.
Hauser has made 25 3-pointers in his last five games. Consider this: There are 279 players in the NBA who haven’t made 25 3-pointers all season. Yes, Hauser has more 3-pointers in a week than half the league has made in half of the season.
Still, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster for Hauser in 2025-26. He came into the new campaign as a starter on a robust $10 million per year extension, but got shuffled to the bench after three games due in large part to Boston’s rebounding woes. Hauser’s shot was off at times to start the season, and his minutes dipped below even his average on Boston’s recent talent-surplus teams.
Even in those moments, Hauser was a positive for the Celtics when he was on the court. But now his shot is falling, and he’s given an already-potent offense another jolt while shuffling back to the starting role.
Let’s crunch the numbers on all the ways that Hauser is helping Boston thrive when he’s on the court:
The turnaround
Let’s get the shooting discussion out the way. After some woes to start the season — at least by his lofty, above-40 percent-on-3-pointers standards — Hauser has found his groove over the last 16 games. Just look at the spikes in his scoring and shooting efficiencies:
Most notable: Hauser was shooting 32.1 percent on all pull-up 3-pointers through the first 26 games. He’s up to a sizzling 52.4 percent over his last 16 games.
Catch and shoot will always be Hauser’s bread and butter — and even that percentage jumped 12.8 percent to 47.2 percent in his last 16 games — but he’s creating all sorts of quality attempts lately, including some sneaky moments where he puts the ball on the floor and ventures inside the arc.
Nothing but net for starters
The Celtics’ starting five featuring Hauser is outscoring opponents by a whopping 19.2 points per 100 possessions over 149 minutes of floor time this season.
Among the 40 five-man lineups in the league with at least 100 minutes played this season, Boston’s starters rank fourth in net rating behind only lineups from Oklahoma City, Denver, and — surprisingly — Charlotte.
Narrow that down to the 25 lineups with 120+ minutes this season, and Boston’s starting five vaults to second in net rating, trailing only the Denver starters when Nikola Jokic was healthy.
The Celtics rank second in the NBA in offensive rating this season at 121.3, trailing only the Nuggets (121.5).
Quick decisions, good ball security
Hauser is a perfect fit for the starting group in part because his presence forces defenders to stay attached and creates space for teammates. What’s more, he makes quick decisions and takes care of the basketball.
The stat crunchers at BBall Index note that Hauser ranks 74th out of 513 NBA players this season in quick-decision pass percentage, with 86 percent of his touches lasting 0.5 seconds or less. Hauser ranks 57th out of 513 players while committing 1.75 turnovers per 100 touches.
His bad-pass turnovers have crept up a bit this season, but he’s routinely valued the ball throughout his career and is a willing ball-mover when he doesn’t have a quality look.
Defending without fouling
It’s still comical to watch players trip all over themselves trying to go at Hauser in isolation. Hauser routinely competes in those situations, all while avoiding fouls by keeping his hands up. In fact, the numbers suggest he’s been the best isolation defender on the team this season.
Opponents are averaging 0.68 points per play in isolation against Hauser this season, the best mark of the 10 Boston players who have defended enough possessions to qualify. Opponents are shooting 28 percent in those instances and turn the ball over on 11.8 percent of those possessions. Hauser ranks in the 89th percentile among all isolation defenders.
Overall, the NBA’s tracking data suggests that opponents are shooting 0.7 percent below expected output when Hauser is the nearest defender. That’s another solid number considering the variety of players Hauser defends.
On Wednesday night against Indiana, Hauser spent multiple turns on Pascal Siakam. He had one excellent isolation stop early in the game, then got beat off the dribble later in the game and committed a tough and-one foul.
Still, Hauser commits fouls on just 2.3 percent of his team’s plays, which is an elite number for a player routinely tasked with defending an array of wings and bigs. What’s more, he commits shooting fouls on a mere 7.4 percent of his contested shots, which ranks in the 89th percentile for his position.
Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Sam Hauser has been one of the Celtics’ best isolation defenders this season despite routinely drawing tough matchups.
Cleaning the glass
Hauser also quietly does a nice job on the glass. His defensive rebound percentage is up to 14.6 this season, which would be the best full-season mark of his career.
Boston grabs 69.8 percent of available defensive rebounds with Hauser on the court this season, the third-best mark on the team behind only centers Luka Garza (72.0) and Neemias Queta (70.2).
Final thoughts
While Hauser’s reputation hinges heavily on his shotmaking abilities, he continues to find ways to positively impact the Celtics beyond scoring.
In a league where shooters with other skills are some of the most valuable commodities, Hauser is a true luxury, particularly while accounting just for 6.5 percent of the cap this season, even as his extension kicks in.
With the NBA trade deadline lingering, and the Celtics having only a limited amount of tradable contracts, Hauser’s name will invariably be floated at times. The last few weeks have been a firm reminder of how valuable he is to this team and its quest to return to title contender status.
