The question to Jayson Tatum was direct, and so was the Celtics star’s answer, even if it was obviously in jest.
Is Sam Hauser a better shooter than you?
“Hell no,” Tatum said emphatically.
Tatum, to be clear, does think Hauser is a good shooter — evidenced by the new Celtics weapon’s 5-for-8 night from 3-point range in Wednesday’s preseason loss to the Raptors. During a mic’d up segment posted by the C’s from a practice earlier this week, Tatum even sung the praises of Hauser.
“He can shoot,” Tatum said. “Yo Sam, you can shoot, bro!”
Hauser saw the clip, but it apparently missed something else Tatum said.
“He claimed he’s a better shooter than me, but I don’t think he thinks that’s true,” Hauser joked. “So we’ll see.”
Tatum had a funny response ready to go.
“I tell him all the time, if I was that wide open, if people left me that wide open and all I had to do was catch and shoot, I would make a lot more shots as well,” Tatum joked. “So I tell Sam he should send me a thank you card for being on the floor together.”
All kidding aside from the budding good natured rivalry, Hauser’s emergence this preseason is well received by Tatum and the rest of the Celtics. The second-year forward, undrafted out of Virginia last year, has just about already locked up a roster spot after two terrific preseason games in which he’s scored 36 points on 9-for-13 shooting from deep, becoming a quick fan favorite at TD Garden in the process.
In the wake of Danilo Gallinari’s ACL injury, Hauser is showing he can handle an important role as a lethal shooting option off the bench.
“Sam’s light’s out,” Jaylen Brown said. “Him being able to spread the floor makes the game easier for everybody else, especially when he’s shooting the ball like that.”
When Gallinari went down this summer, the Celtics didn’t panic. There were rumors that the C’s would try to sign a veteran scorer like Carmelo Anthony, but they didn’t go that route. They had confidence that Hauser, who’s made big strides, could fill the void. So far, he’s rewarding that faith.
“You never want to see one of your teammates go down like that,” Hauser said. “It’s definitely a next man up mentality and them showing confidence in me gives me confidence to kinda show what I can do to the best I can and help these guys win and try to get back to where we were last year.”
Tatum may have been joking when he said all Hauser has to do is catch and shoot, but it’s exactly what the C’s are looking for from him. When he’s surrounded by the plentiful of scorers and playmakers the Celtics have, Hauser will often find himself free for wide-open looks.
Hauser seems ready to succeed in that role, something the C’s haven’t had much of in recent years.
“That’s kind of what I’m known for: shooting,” Hauser said. “That’s how I can help this team in the best way possible. …
“My job is to just space the floor, find openings and be an outlet for those guys like JT, JB, Malcolm (Brogdon) and (Marcus) Smart, the guys who are making plays. So just trying to do that to the best of my ability.”
Tatum, joking aside, understands the importance of a player like Hauser is for a Celtics team built to win a championship.
“Sam is obviously a great shooter and his game has come a long way,” Tatum said. “I’m happy for him. I’m happy he’s getting these opportunities, and he’s obviously making the most out of it, and we’re going to need him. He’s going to play a role for the team this year.”
Small ball?
As Joe Mazzulla experiments with lineups in the preseason, the new coach has been testing out smaller combinations that include the 6-foot-8 Tatum as the tallest player. Mazzulla said it’s not something the C’s have practiced, but likes the idea of the lineup because of the skill, speed and high basketball IQ that it brings. The coach will continue to try it if the opportunity presents itself, especially with Rob Williams out for the opening months of the season and the frontcourt a bit thin.
When the C’s play that lineup, they know they’ll have to put more effort into rebounding.
“We’ve got to be aggressive on the boards,” Brown said. “If we do that, we’ll be tough.”
Tatum seems to embrace the idea of playing the 5, even if that’s not how he’s necessarily thinking.
“I was the tallest guy out there, but we’re just all interchangeable, moving the ball, so it’s not like I’m just sitting in the post setting screens,” he said. “We all rebound. I might be guarding the tallest player, but I don’t look at that as playing the 5. I’m just the tallest guy out there at the moment.”
