Hauser's Defense

[sgrogan]

I've been waiting to post this until after a game he didn't go 4-6 from 3.

Surprisingly, to me at least. Sam's defense has been at least adequate.
He's been targeted and held his own. I thought he would be able to be "played off the floor" He seems to do a decent job staying between his man and the basket. Tries to box out on rebounds.

What do others think?

[Roy H.]

I agree.  He's an effort defender with good size.  He's not particularly quick, agile or athletic, but he tries, which is enough to make him playable.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

He played some really good D on Doncic—Doncic usually still scored, because he's really good, but there was one possession where Hauser twice cut off Doncic's move and Doncic had to settle for a midrange shot (which he made, but he had to work harder for it).

[nickagneta]

He played some really good D on Doncic—Doncic usually still scored, because he's really good, but there was one possession where Hauser twice cut off Doncic's move and Doncic had to settle for a midrange shot (which he made, but he had to work harder for it).

And that's all you can ask of him. Hauser will be hunted out by the opposing team's best offensive players, much like Payton Pritchard was last year. So long as Hauser can get a little bit of bulldog in him and make the opposing player take the toughest shot possible, he's done his job, whether the ball goes in on that shot or not.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

He played some really good D on Doncic—Doncic usually still scored, because he's really good, but there was one possession where Hauser twice cut off Doncic's move and Doncic had to settle for a midrange shot (which he made, but he had to work harder for it).

And that's all you can ask of him. Hauser will be hunted out by the opposing team's best offensive players, much like Payton Pritchard was last year. So long as Hauser can get a little bit of bulldog in him and make the opposing player take the toughest shot possible, he's done his job, whether the ball goes in on that shot or not.

True. And let's be real, most players Hauser ends up guarding won't be Doncic-level scorers, so most of the time he should be fine.

[hwangjini_1]

here is a post from SoSH about how well hauser played doncic last game and how the mavs hunted hauser. the poster is benhogan and i am just stealing it.

it shows that for that game, hauser is a credible defender. if he keeps it up he would be a great addition to the celtics.

=========

Hunted Hauser watch:
SAM enters at 5:54 Q1 Celtics up 17-13

Luka hunts SAM the first four possessions (obviously part of the game plan)
#1 Luka drives to rim, Sam stops him, Luka passes, Mav misses shot, Sam rebound
#2 Luka attacks, Sam challenges, Luka misses
#3 Sam guards Luka full court, Luka drives, Sam cuts off the lane to the basket and Luka passes out.
#4 Luka drives on Sam, cut off from the hoop. Marcus helps, Luka passes out to the perimeter

3:49 Q1 Celtics up 26-14 Mavericks timeout

after TO Luka doesn't immediately hunt Hauser until

#5 2:33 Luka bullies Hauser down to the block. Hits a 10' step-back fade-away banker
#6 :36 Luka dribbles into the lane against Hauser and hits a 8' fadeaway from the middle.

Celtics end Q1 up 34-23

Q2
#7 Dinwiddie hunts SAM, Hauser stops him from getting into the lane. Passes out
#8 Dinwiddie gets the ball on Hauser at the 3pt line. Tries to shake him, doesn't bother driving. Passes the ball to Wood
#9 Dinwiddie drives hard on Hauser, stopped at the rim, with Al's help. SD passes out for a bricked 3 from Wood
#10 (after a TO, designed play) Dinwiddie gets the inbound drives right into Sam's body, gets the whistle and hits the 8'
#11 Dinwiddie has the ball 1-1 on Hauser at the top. Tries to shake. Nothing. Passes to Wood

Sam leaves the floor at 7:35 of Q2 Celtics up 50-33

Luka hunted Hauser 6X in Q1 when the game was somewhat tight. LD came away with 4pts in a 6-minute span.
Dinwiddie came away with 2pts on Hauser when he had him 5X

Q3
Hauser enters 5:21
#12 Luka immediately hunts Hauser. Drives. Sam fouls him on the floor.
#13 Luka bullies Hauser down to the block. Passes it out for a Corner3
#14 Finney Smith catches the ball out high w.a little momentum and easily goes by Hauser for a lay up
#15 Luka bullies him into the lane. Luka charged and ran over Sam, he falls to the ground. Luka misses shot
#16 Luka works Sam into the lane, tries several pump fakes, hits a 10' fade-away

Luka gets 2pts on hunting Hauser 4X in the 2nd half

Hauser doesn't play again until garbage time

Hauser got hunted by Luka 10X. Luka was 3-5 & scored 6pts on SAM.
Luka is the most dominant offensive player in the NBA. Hauser held his own against a red-hot Luka that scored 42pts yesterday.

Over 20% into the season and see no evidence that Sam Hauser will get played off the floor.

[mobilija]

here is a post from SoSH about how well hauser played doncic last game and how the mavs hunted hauser. the poster is benhogan and i am just stealing it.

it shows that for that game, hauser is a credible defender. if he keeps it up he would be a great addition to the celtics.

=========

Hunted Hauser watch:
SAM enters at 5:54 Q1 Celtics up 17-13

Luka hunts SAM the first four possessions (obviously part of the game plan)
#1 Luka drives to rim, Sam stops him, Luka passes, Mav misses shot, Sam rebound
#2 Luka attacks, Sam challenges, Luka misses
#3 Sam guards Luka full court, Luka drives, Sam cuts off the lane to the basket and Luka passes out.
#4 Luka drives on Sam, cut off from the hoop. Marcus helps, Luka passes out to the perimeter

3:49 Q1 Celtics up 26-14 Mavericks timeout

after TO Luka doesn't immediately hunt Hauser until

#5 2:33 Luka bullies Hauser down to the block. Hits a 10' step-back fade-away banker
#6 :36 Luka dribbles into the lane against Hauser and hits a 8' fadeaway from the middle.

Celtics end Q1 up 34-23

Q2
#7 Dinwiddie hunts SAM, Hauser stops him from getting into the lane. Passes out
#8 Dinwiddie gets the ball on Hauser at the 3pt line. Tries to shake him, doesn't bother driving. Passes the ball to Wood
#9 Dinwiddie drives hard on Hauser, stopped at the rim, with Al's help. SD passes out for a bricked 3 from Wood
#10 (after a TO, designed play) Dinwiddie gets the inbound drives right into Sam's body, gets the whistle and hits the 8'
#11 Dinwiddie has the ball 1-1 on Hauser at the top. Tries to shake. Nothing. Passes to Wood

Sam leaves the floor at 7:35 of Q2 Celtics up 50-33

Luka hunted Hauser 6X in Q1 when the game was somewhat tight. LD came away with 4pts in a 6-minute span.
Dinwiddie came away with 2pts on Hauser when he had him 5X

Q3
Hauser enters 5:21
#12 Luka immediately hunts Hauser. Drives. Sam fouls him on the floor.
#13 Luka bullies Hauser down to the block. Passes it out for a Corner3
#14 Finney Smith catches the ball out high w.a little momentum and easily goes by Hauser for a lay up
#15 Luka bullies him into the lane. Luka charged and ran over Sam, he falls to the ground. Luka misses shot
#16 Luka works Sam into the lane, tries several pump fakes, hits a 10' fade-away

Luka gets 2pts on hunting Hauser 4X in the 2nd half

Hauser doesn't play again until garbage time

Hauser got hunted by Luka 10X. Luka was 3-5 & scored 6pts on SAM.
Luka is the most dominant offensive player in the NBA. Hauser held his own against a red-hot Luka that scored 42pts yesterday.

Over 20% into the season and see no evidence that Sam Hauser will get played off the floor.

Good Stuff, nice share. TP

[gouki88]

I’ve noticed teams often disrupting their offence in efforts to target Hauser, seemingly assuming he’s a Duncan Robinson clone

[tenn_smoothie]

Surprisingly, to me at least. Sam's defense has been at least adequate.
He's been targeted and held his own. I thought he would be able to be "played off the floor" He seems to do a decent job staying between his man and the basket.
Tries to box out on rebounds.

Just the fact that Hauser boxes out on rebounds should qualify him as a serious candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.

[SHAQATTACK]

He played some really good D on Doncic—Doncic usually still scored, because he's really good, but there was one possession where Hauser twice cut off Doncic's move and Doncic had to settle for a midrange shot (which he made, but he had to work harder for it).

And that's all you can ask of him. Hauser will be hunted out by the opposing team's best offensive players, much like Payton Pritchard was last year. So long as Hauser can get a little bit of bulldog in him and make the opposing player take the toughest shot possible, he's done his job, whether the ball goes in on that shot or not.

True. And let's be real, most players Hauser ends up guarding won't be Doncic-level scorers, so most of the time he should be fine.

Yeah, one day 30 years from now Luke can tell his grand children about guarding the best basketball player ever 

[liam]

It really helps that Hauser has a high BBIQ and knows where he's supposed to be. He's on the slow footed side but his positioning and effort make up for some of that. I think he's a better defender than Gallo at this point.

[Sophomore]

It really helps that Hauser has a high BBIQ and knows where he's supposed to be. He's on the slow footed side but his positioning and effort make up for some of that. I think he's a better defender than Gallo at this point.

Agree with all of this.

[Neurotic Guy]

I think many of us were hoping for a Duncan Robinson type.  What we have looks better.  Younger, cheaper, an inch taller, better defender, and... better shooter (at least at this moment in time).

[RockinRyA]

Hauser even if hes not on isnt a negative. It makes him really valuable because as teams start to respect his shooting it willmake our spacing even better

[Surferdad]

He played some really good D on Doncic—Doncic usually still scored, because he's really good, but there was one possession where Hauser twice cut off Doncic's move and Doncic had to settle for a midrange shot (which he made, but he had to work harder for it).

And that's all you can ask of him. Hauser will be hunted out by the opposing team's best offensive players, much like Payton Pritchard was last year. So long as Hauser can get a little bit of bulldog in him and make the opposing player take the toughest shot possible, he's done his job, whether the ball goes in on that shot or not.

Interesting comparison between PP and SH.  Pritchard probably has better defensive fundamentals and more ‘bulldog’ mentality.  Hauser is taller (for his position): 6’8” is good size for wing while 6’1” is not really tall enough for a guard these days.