Sam Hauser has certainly caught the eye of his teammates, and Boston Celtics fans, with his ability to consistently drain shots from beyond the arc this preseason.
But is the second-year forward already a better long-range shooter than Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum? Hauser is leaving that up for debate.
Hauser also poked a little fun at his teammate when asked about a clip circling the internet of Tatum telling the 24-year-old he can shoot well during a recent practice.
“I saw the clip,” Hauser told reporters, per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, after scoring 22 points in Boston’s overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden on Wednesday. “He claimed he’s a better shooter than me, but I don’t think he thinks that’s true. We’ll see.”
Tatum responded shortly thereafter at his postgame press conference, giving a more definitive answer and taking a playful shot at Hauser.
“Hell no,” Tatum said when asked if Hauser was a better shooter than him, per Weiss. “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. I tell Sam he should send me a thank you card for being on the floor together.”
Tatum shot his worst 3-point percentage of his career at 35.3% a season ago while Hauser knocked down a blistering 43.2% of his attempts from deep in limited action. But as Tatum pointed out, that could be due to defenses paying ultra-close attention to the three-time All-Star.
Through two preseason games, Hauser has showcased his smoothing shooting stroke by connecting on 9-of-13 (69.2%) triples. Tatum meanwhile hasn’t come close to that success — albeit in exhibition games that don’t count — hitting just 2-of-15 attempts.
Given that Hauser may have the upper hand at the moment, Tatum also threw some much-deserved praise his way with the 24-year-old making his case to be a regular in the Celtics rotation.
“Sam is obviously a great shooter,” Tatum said. “His game has come a long way. I’m happy for him. I’m happy he’s getting opportunity and he’s obviously making the most out of it. We’re going to need him. He’s going to play a role for this team this year.”
