First and foremost, all credit for the “Slam Hauser” nickname belongs to NBC Sports Boston’s Brian Scalabrine. I heard it on the broadcast and instantly knew it would be a great name for an article. So, here we are.
Late in the third quarter, the Boston Celtics had a baseline out-of-bounds (BLOB) play. Jrue Holiday was the inbounder. It started off with Sam Hauser setting a little pin-in on the interior, allowing Neemias Queta to relocate and receive the inbounds pass.
Hauser then curled toward the perimeter, making use of a Jaylen Brown pin-down exit screen around the top of the arc. Brown then looks to relocate. However, he’s unable to shake his defender. Hauser cuts back toward the rim, losing his man, receiving the bounce pass from Queta, and finishing with an easy dunk at the rim.
We’ve seen Hauser nail a few dunks this season. In fact, earlier in the year, he went on a mini run of games where he got at least one stuff at the rim every night. Still, for a player who’s considered to be a shooting specialist, it’s always fun to see Hauser cutting toward the rim and getting up to flush the ball home.
It would appear we’re not the only ones who enjoy seeing that, either. Luke Kornet almost leaped out of his seat on the bench. Kristaps Porzingis could also be seen smiling and starting to stand up. That’s the beautiful thing about this year’s roster; everybody appears to be cheering for each other’s success. It’s about the collective rather than the individual.
Now that we’ve seen Hauser nail some dunks, the next step is for him to create his own space on the crossover, explode past his man, and hit a one-handed hammer with force. Whether we ever get to witness that type of play from the 3&D forward remains to be seen.
Hopefully, we get to see more Slam Hauser between now and the end of the season, regardless of whether they can from counters to the defense, designed plays, or a simple read-and-react, they’re always going to be highlight moments.
