The Boston Celtics thought they had found the wing depth they were missing in last year's NBA Finals after they inked veteran Danilo Gallinari to a two-year, $13 million deal this offseason. However, the sharpshooter tore his ACL on a non-contact injury during the FIBA World Cup and will be the entirety of the 2022-23 season. The Athletic's Shams Charania reported the Celtics will get a $3.23 million Disabled Player Exception from the NBA after they lost Gallinari.

The Celtics have been fine without Danilo Gallinari and have started the season 6-3. Their bench is averaging 35.9 points per game which is 14th in the league. The development of Sam Hauser landed him a spot on the roster to replace Gallinari before the season. He is averaging 6.4 PPG and is shooting 54.8 3P% to start the year. His production this season has garnered compliments from his head coach.

“No, listen, he just plays the right way,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told The Athletic. “He plays the right way, he knows how to play off the other guys, he can read defenses, he puts a lot of pressure on the defense. So it really helps our spacing. And he’s continuing to work at getting better at his defense.”

Celtics' all-star Jaylen Brown echoed a similar sentiment about Hauser.

“Sam is lights out,” Brown said. “You can’t leave him. We’re looking for him. Once he hit a couple, we’re looking for him, and Sam is always ready. He works hard, and he’s developing a nice role for himself in this league.”