BOSTON — While Sam Hauser had a hot shooting start to the playoffs, his 3-pointer has been off for the past two rounds of the playoffs. Hauser brings other elements to the game, which is why he’s been a rotation mainstay for the Celtics. But it hurts that the sharpshooter’s in a slump at this point in the playoffs.
But with the 10-day break, the C’s will hope Hauser — coming off a 42.4% 3-point shooting season — has found his shot again just in time for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Hauser himself unveiled a unique tactic that he sometimes employs when his shot isn’t falling.
“There’s nothing like tangible that I switch out in my workouts or anything,” Hauser said. “It’s just trying to stay confident, maybe going back and looking at highlights where I’m on a heater or something like that. Just to know that I’m still the same guy, it’s just shots aren’t going in sometimes.
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“Sometimes I just search up my name and watch the first couple videos that come up. Sometimes when you’re in a hole or a slump like that, you just need something to bring you out of it.”
Slumps happen to the best shooters, and Hauser has proven that he can knock it down with the best of them in the league. He’s a career 42.2% 3-point shooter; he averaged 5.9 attempts per game as he recorded career-highs with 9.0 points and 22.0 minutes per game.
It looked like Hauser was building off his impressive season as he shot 48.0% on 3-pointers against the Heat on 5.0 attempts per game. But it’s been a slow burn since then. He shot 33.3% from deep against the Cavs in the second round, but he attempted just 1.8 3s per game that series. Then he bottomed out shooting just 7.1% on 3.5 3-pointers per game in the East Finals against the Pacers.
So the Celtics and Hauser will hope that his shot is back throughout the Finals. Fortunately, the Celtics were able to handle the Pacers even if Hauser’s shot wasn’t going down. But the margins will certainly slim in the Finals, where every point will be necessary for the Celtics to hang Banner No. 18.
“It happens to everybody in this game — that’s why you play the game of basketball,” Hauser said. “That’s why it’s a team sport, not just an individual sport. I try to impact the game other ways. Obviously shooting is the loud impact that I make. But I always know that water finds its level. It usually regresses to the mean. Shots are bound to start falling.”
