CelticsBlog · Jan 15, 2024
Celtics welcoming all challengers to Hauser Island
Photo by Justin Ford/Getty ImagesAfter the Boston Celtics’ win over the New York Knicks on November 13, Joe Mazzulla declined to reveal the true reasoning behind his thoughts on Sam Hauser’s defensive capabilities.
“I think he’s a much better defender than people think,” Mazzulla said. “I can’t say why, or else I’ll get in trouble.”
On Saturday night, he conceded.
“I’m seeing the same thing I saw last year,” the second-year Celtics coach said of Hauser’s defense. “Seeing the same thing I saw when I first coached him in Summer League: a white shooter who most people think he can’t play defense. Yeah, I said it.”
Stop by stop, Hauser is proving the rest of the league wrong.