NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS

June 16, 2024

Sam Hauser

Boston Celtics

Practice Day

Q. What was it like to watch the film, and how motivated are you to get it done Monday night?

SAM HAUSER: We are excited to get back on the court and put our best foot forward in Game 5. After a loss like that, you always feel like there's extra motivation to get back on the court and get going again.

Q. Did you even look at the film, or just one of those nights for you guys?

SAM HAUSER: We haven't watched anything yet, but I'm sure we'll watch a little bit, at least, see what went wrong, what we can learn from it and how we can get better from it.

Q. Do you have a specific postgame routine, and how does it change after a win versus a loss?

SAM HAUSER: I wouldn't say it changes from win to loss. It's pretty similar every game, to be honest with you.

Q. On Joe Mazzulla’s approach after wins vs. losses.

SAM HAUSER: I would say it's similar. I mean, you're never perfect in a win or a loss, so I feel like there's always room to grow and improve. And I think he does a good job of that, just keeping us grounded, even after we were on a 10-game winning streak before this in the playoffs, which is pretty rare.

But also highlighting that; that that's a pretty successful accomplishment, but coming off a loss like that, there’s a lot to learn.

Q. What do you expect the crowd to be like?

SAM HAUSER: I think Jayson said it the other night. We expect it to be as loud as it has been all season, and we are excited.

Q. How much fun is it to play in a game like that?

SAM HAUSER: You crave that as an athlete, as a player. You dream of it, and, you know, to be a part of it is pretty special as well.

Q. How badly do you want to get it done?

SAM HAUSER: Yeah, I mean, it would be awesome to get it done. It would be great. If we do lose, it's not like the end of the world. We'd still be up 3-2, but to do it at home would be pretty special.

Q. Individually you had a good game. After a loss like that do you take something from your own performance or does the result sort of cloud that?

SAM HAUSER: You know, it's a weird balance almost. It's hard to, like, take moral victories from that, but also in the same breath, you know, it's nice to see some go through on the offensive end and things like that.

But it's kind of a weird, fine line of pulling some good things from it but also understanding that we lost by 40.

Q. Shooting in general, when you're making your shots in games, are you finding when you're shooting around in warmups and practice, you're in a better rhythm? And conversely, when you're not shooting well in games, do you find in shootaround you're struggling, or is it not that associated?

SAM HAUSER: To be honest, like some of my best games I've had as a player are my worst-shooting performances in pregame shooting and shootaround, but some of my worst nights have been where I've felt really good in warmups. I feel like there's no correlation, to be honest with you. It's just the rhythm of the game and feel for the game when you're out there.