Sam Hauser enjoyed a breakout start to the new season, providing the Boston Celtics with some much-needed shooting depth off the bench.
However, over the last 10 games, Hauser’s three-point magic has faded, and suddenly, his shot is clanking far more often than it’s swishing, with the sophomore shooter averaging just 24.3% from deep.
Recently, Hauser spoke with NBC Sports Boston’s NBA Insider, Chris Forsberg, regarding his current shooting struggles and noted that teams are now paying him more attention due to the threat he poses when left unguarded around the perimeter, but doubled down on his ability to be impactful in his role as a sharpshooter off the bench.
This is a great read from @ChrisForsberg_ discussing Hauser’s current shooting slump.
FWIW, over the last 10 games, Hauser is hitting just 24.3% from 3, on 3.7 attempts per game.
“Teams are guarding me a little bit different with the hot start to the year. But I just stick with my routine, trust it, knowing that I’m still a good shooter even though I’m missing. And the best part is the shot still feels good coming off my hand. That’s always encouraging…Overall, my confidence is pretty good in my shot. I know that I’m a good shooter and I’m going to keep letting it fly. And they’re going to fall. It’s law of averages,” Hauser said.
For the season, Hauser’s three-point conversion rate is still among the league’s elite shooters, with the Wisconsin native knocking down his long-range looks at a 42% clip. However, if his struggles persist much longer, he may struggle to command the 16.1 minutes of playing time Joe Mazzulla is currently affording him.
Jaylen Brown Wants Continuity From the Refs
Outside of the Celtics’ current issues with seeing the ball go through the net when shooting from the perimeter, they’re also struggling with a surge in turnovers, committing 30 of them in a two-game period between December 16 and December 18 – with both games coming against the Orlando Magic.
When speaking to the media following the Celtics’ latest loss, Jaylen Brown let rip on the game officials, noting how he feels they’re consistently targeting him with traveling violations.
Jaylen Brown says: “It seems like every f*****g game” referees are targeting him for traveling violations
📺Full Interview: t.co/IEqc5BEgMY
“It just seemed like we turned the ball over. We had a lot of travels. That’s something I’ve got to work on, I guess…They pick and choose where they emphasize the traveling call. But it seems like every f****** game, like, ‘that’s [Brown] the person I’m targeting.’ But you look around the league, you know, you could pinpoint a lot of players doing the same thing. So, you can’t pick and choose when you want to call stuff, but it’s something I’m gonna work on. Definitely keep that pivot foot down because a lot of my turnovers tonight came from travel calls,” Brown said.
In fairness, over the past two games, Brown has contributed 12 turnovers for Boston, who, as a team, committed 30 turnovers in their games against the Magic.
Jaylen Brown Upset at Shooting Struggles
Hauser isn’t the only player who’s struggling to convert on his shot attempts, as Brown has also seen some of his attempts go awry in recent games, which lead him to give a candid response when asked about the team’s overall shooting woes during his post-game press conference.
“You thought we was just going to shoot lights out for the whole season… s**t I wish. It never goes like that.”
JB talks the journey of an NBA season, and how the C’s move forward after two lough losses
“That’s just the NBA. That’s just how the journey goes sometimes; you know what I mean? You thought we were gonna shoot lights out for the whole season? S***, I wish. It never goes like that. But that’s a part of why you love basketball, why I love basketball. Tonight I didn’t play my best game offensively. I missed a lot of shots I know I can f****** make. I know we missed a lot of shots as a team I know we can make…So what, we shot 30% tonight against a team we should of beat, we learn from it, and we move forward,” Brown said
The Celtics will now be hoping to overcome their current struggles when they face off against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, December 21, in a bid to halt their slide and get their season back on track – or to at least generate some momentum heading into their Christmas Day game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Sam Hauser Doubles Down on Celtics Role