Celtics’ Sam Hauser still not ready to return for Game 4 vs. Knicks

NEW YORK Sam Hauser made progress in his recovery before Challenge of the Celtics second-round playoff series but not enough to return to the lineup After being upgraded to questionable and going through an extensive workout at morning shootaround Hauser was ruled out for Monday night s challenge against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden It was the third straight DNP for the bench sharpshooter who sprained his right ankle in Boston s Encounter loss at TD Garden He s getting there Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned Sunday He s getting better He s day to day getting better every day so just got to continue that process He s a little bit better in the modern day than he was the day before today and he s just got to continue to work to get there Related Articles Celtics notebook How Payton Pritchard sparked C s in career-best playoff challenge Kristaps Porzingis comes off bench in Tournament after ominous fitness summary Jayson Tatum shares candid perspective on spotlight after Celtics Challenge win Celtics embrace darkness blow out Knicks in much-needed Match win Celtics rule out rotation athlete for pivotal Challenge vs Knicks The Celtics have had their entire rotation available for just one full challenge this postseason Hauser a core member of Mazzulla s rotation played in games during the regular season and led all Celtics players in -point shooting percentage He s been quiet since the playoffs began totaling just points on -of- shooting in minutes across six appearances Guard Jrue Holiday mentioned Monday morning that getting Hauser back would be huge But that will not happen until Competition at the earliest Obviously with his -point shooting he spaces the floor being able to be dynamic out there Holiday noted Having Big Smooth back would be great Every other Celtics player was available Monday night as Boston attempted to even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals at -