Tonight if you’re going house-to-house trick-or-treating, you will go entrance lawns adorned with gawdy decorations and blow-up figures. However in case you’ve ever been visited by somebody or one thing from the good past, that it is rather more refined and spooky than that.
The hairs in your neck get up. Your breath shortens. Your coronary heart beats just a little faster. You swear there’s somebody within the room with you.
That’s what it should really feel like enjoying in opposition to Sam Hauser. Forgive the hacky Halloween intro, please.
After scoring ten factors on Opening Night time, Hauser has sat out the final three with again ache, It’s one thing that has plagued him all through the summer season — he awakened humorous and it’s been flaring up for the reason that preseason — however returned Wednesday evening in Indianapolis. He performed simply 14 minutes in opposition to the Pacers and scored 5 factors (1-for-4 from behind the arc), however he completed a +12 on the evening (simply behind Neemias Queta’s +18) and his fingerprints have been all around the recreation.
If a shooter isn’t hitting pictures, their phantom presence can create area for different teammates to terrorize the protection. Early within the first quarter, twice Tyrese Haliburton needed to keep residence on Hauser within the nook, ensuing to a drive from Tatum and a single-coverage fadeaway.
These are admittedly Tatum highlights, however with out Hauser’s menace, Tatum doesn’t have the area to function.
Hauser may also reap the benefits of his personal unseen gravity. Defenses count on him to come back up on down screens, however for the reason that preseason, he’s been extra versatile attacking shut outs and attacking the rim. Right here, he reads the protection, curls into the restricted space, and finds Luke Kornet on the rim.
The place Hauser has not been capable of sneak up on groups is on the defensive finish. Earlier than the Bucks recreation, head coach Joe Mazzulla talked concerning the difficulties on protection working double-bigs with out Hauser within the rotation and it was clear in opposition to the Pacers simply how a lot he trusts Hauser inside their system. He’s a robust assist defender and after proving himself in The Finals in opposition to the likes of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, you may rely on him in isolation, too. He drew a cost in semi-transition staying in entrance of and performed Ben Mathurin to a contested two:
The scary season involves a detailed tonight, however Hauser’s terror marketing campaign in opposition to the remainder of the NBA is simply starting.
