After missing just two games due to an ankle sprain, Sam Hauser made his comeback and resumed his blazing speed from his
Washington debut, albeit the injury kept him from setting any new marks. That evening against the Wizards, Hauser shot 10-for-13 in
less than three quarters. Less than a week later, he knocked down 7-of-8 from three, despite acknowledging to reporters that his ankle
isn’t fully recovered. By a strange twist of fate, he became the first player in Celtics history to shoot 20 threes in three games,
shattering Jayson Tatum’s record.
In the absence of Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics defeated the Bulls 124–113 to increase their winning run to
nine games. In the second half of back-to-backs, they improved to 11-2, which was impressive considering Al Horford and Porzingis
have virtually always missed those games this season. Luke Kornet added eight points, four assists, and a career-high thirteen
rebounds to Hauser’s twenty-three points from the start. Boston outscored Payton Pritchard in minutes off the bench by a margin of
seventeen. In less than a month, the second unit puts on yet another outstanding performance that begs the question of how involved
they could go.
Joe Mazzulla stated last week, “I don’t really consider (the end of the year) an experiment.” It’s as if, for whatever reason, we should
take advantage of these opportunities. Regardless of who’s in, these guys seem to be able to rapidly assess what the matchups are on
both sides of the floor and find those different methods. What coverages are there? What state are we in? On what do we attack? In
that regard, they excel at organizing themselves. As a result, every player is learning how to play with various lineups, which enables us
to go toward different preparations that are necessary for various scenarios. I believe that’s why we’re appreciative of both the
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