The Los Angeles Lakers will be without superstar LeBron James to begin the season due to sciatica on his right side, which means other players like Rui Hachimura will need to step up in his absence to keep pace in a loaded Western Conference.
Hachimura has been a starter for the Lakers the last couple of years, but his role was understandably limited playing alongside James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Anthony Davis and others. The 27-year-old was mostly utilized as a spot-up shooter and offensive rebounder in L.A.’s offense.
With LeBron potentially missing a month of action though, Hachimura spoke about how that changes his role.
“I just gotta be more aggressive,” he said after Sunday’s preseason win over the Golden State Warriors. “With him being out, I can attack the rim more because he likes to post up more so when that happens, I have to be more spaced out. So that kind of stuff I can do more when he’s out. So yeah, it’s just a little different but not much. I just gotta do the same things that I’m supposed to do.”
While Hachimura is one of the best spot-up shooters in the league, his offensive skillset is more than just that and now he will get a chance to show it.
JJ Redick is hopeful that James won’t miss too much time, but as the superstar enters his unprecedented 23rd season, the organization will surely be cautious and not rush him back. That means Hachimura will get an extended opportunity, and it will be up to him to make the most of it in a contract year.
JJ Redick sees confidence growing for Rui Hachimura
Even before LeBron James got injured, Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke about how much joy Rui Hachimura was playing with, growing his confidence in the process.
“I would describe Rui as a joy to be around every day,” Redick said at a recent press conference. “That joy is almost always there. What I’ve seen just in the last few weeks is just a higher level of confidence. And I think you still have to look at him as a young player in this league and I think as your confidence grows, your joy grows, your production and output grows. So it’s small nuanced things, but Rui is playing with a lot of confidence, he’s carrying himself with a lot of confidence and has been and is just an absolute pleasure to coach.”
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