BOSTON — Sam Hauser checked himself out of the Celtics’ game against the Pistons on Monday. He was downgraded on the injury report to questionable to return due to a left ankle sprain.
Hauser had played four minutes before exiting the game, going 0-for-1 from 3. He departed the game with 9:47 left in the second quarter to go to the Celtics locker room. It’s unclear how severe the ankle injury is, though Hauser walked mostly under his own power with a limp.
If Hauser is unavailable to play in the second half, expect other wings to absorb his minutes. That’s likely a mix of Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman. Josh Minott has continued playing small-ball center when Neemias Queta takes a break.
Hauser has had a slow start to the season, averaging 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists coming into Monday’s game. Notably, he’s shooting a career-low 34.2% of his 3-pointers so far on the season. Considering he’s a career 41.2% 3-point shooter, it’ll likely come around for Hauser even though it’s been a tough go early on.
