The Boston Celtics championship odds hit zero after losing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. After having one of the best teams in the NBA, they were unable to return to the NBA Finals.
In this, the first year of sports betting in Massachusetts, Monday’s Game 7 loss at home to the Miami Heat was a major disappointment for Boston fans.
The Heat, after losing in Game 1 in Denver last night, are now huge underdogs in the series. The Nuggets are a -800 favorite to win the series at FanDuel Massachusetts. Miami is a +550 longshot.
One Bright Spot Looking Ahead
There were some positives to take away from the season in Boston. One example is that second-year player Sam Hauser made a big leap this season for the Celtics.
Following his college career at Virginia, Hauser declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. He went undrafted but signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics, which allowed him to split his time between the NBA team and their NBA G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.
A 6-8 forward, Hauser was able to make the team for the Celtics by stretching the floor with his shooting. And after appearing in just 26 games as a rookie (6.1 minutes per game), Hauser played 80 games in the regular season and averaged more than 16 minutes per game during the 2022-2023 season. He even was a starter for eight games this year as a stretch forward for Boston.
Whenever Hauser was on the floor, the Celtics had a ton of success. In fact, he was one of the most underrated players in the NBA last year for a variety of reasons.
BetMassachusetts.com – your source for Massachusetts betting apps – set out to assess the most underrated players in the NBA this season.
Most Underrated NBA Players of 2022-23 Season
The Case for Sam Hauser
To determine underrated players, BetMassachusetts.com used Basketball-Reference.com to look at the cap hit and point shares for every single NBA player during the 2022-2023 season.The rankings revealed that Sam Hauser was the 18th most underrated player in the league.
One reason why Hauser had so much success for the Celtics this season was his three-point shooting. Hauser shot nearly 42 percent from the three-point line on 4.2 attempts per game. That is quite a few attempts on just 16 minutes per game. For his career, his effective field goal percentage is .633 percent, which is well above average for his position.
Hauser didn’t see a lot of minutes in the playoffs for the Celtics (6.9 minutes played per game) as the team shortened their rotation. However, Boston might want to reconsider that for next year considering how effective and efficient Hauser has been whenever he’s been on the floor.
With Jaylen Brown eligible to sign the supermax contract extension this offseason, the Celtics are going to need to find ways to save money and remain competitive. Hauser could be that solution as his cap hit is just $1.9M for the 2023-2024 season. Boston likely will need to lean on him more than ever to give them quality minutes off the bench as they are expected to lose Grant Williams and others in free agency.
Don’t be surprised if Hauser sees a big minute uptick next season as his play during the 2022-2023 season was highly encouraging. His shooting alone will make sure that he is on the floor even more for the Celtics next season.
BetMassachusetts.com will keep a close eye on the Celtics and all the Boston pro teams as well as be the best source for Massachusetts sportsbook promo codes.
