Dating back to the summer, a popular debate in the Los Angeles Lakers community was if they would keep Rui Hachimura as their fifth starter or if they would get a defensive-minded player like Marcus Smart in there to complement the stars.
However, head coach JJ Redick has opted to start Hachimura when the team has been at or near full strength. While a starting lineup of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Hachimura and Deandre Ayton sounds great offensively, they have struggled defensively and as a whole in turn.
During this three game losing streak, L.A. has struggled to find any sort of cohesion on defense, which prompted Redick to have an ‘uncomfortable’ practice and brutally honest team meeting.
While no team wants to go through these rough patches, Hachimura acknowledged that their struggles are shared amongst everybody.
“I think it is on all of us,” he said. “Literally even in the meeting we talked about we don’t point at each other. We talk everybody, players, coaches, we have to tighten up. We had a good stretch in the beginning and now we relaxed, we got tired of winning. We just stopped doing what we’re supposed to do, we watched that today. We don’t really watch film like that, but we have to review things we’re supposed to do throughout the season.”
A silver lining to these issues happening now is it is early in the season and the Lakers forward is confident the team can still turn this around.
“Of course, yeah, we’re fine. We just have to kind of reset everything,” Hachimura said. “I think I’ve been in the league seven-eight years, seven years and it’s always happened. It’s not always good to have something like this, but we can’t have it longer that it’s supposed to be. We got to get on a title run again, lots of home games coming, so we have to focus on that. I think we’ve lost these last three home games, right? That’s not acceptable, we have to protect our home.”
The team as whole has to be a lot better, if they hope to compete for a title this season, but Hachimura was reflective about what he personally has to do better to bring back winning.
“I think I just have to bring my energy. I’m not really a vocal guy, as you guys know. I think in the game, there’s times I’m not doing the things that I’m supposed to do. Going in to offensive rebound, getting back on defense, little stuff is going to help the team. So, I think those kinds of stuff, I think I have to focus more on. Bringing the energy, being physical, those kinds of stuff is going to help, I think.”
Offense was never a concern for this Lakers team, but defense was the question mark and so far those suspicions have been proven true. However, now that players know what they need to do individually to become a better unit, perhaps those concerns get smoothed over time.
Rui Hachimura willing to do whatever necessary to help Lakers win
There is no denying how valuable of a secondary scorer Hachimura is, but he needs to embrace other skills outside of scoring, like rebounding. With a big frame, Hachimura should secure at least five rebounds a game.
Knowing that scoring is not always needed, he admitted that he is willing to do whatever is necessary to help L.A. win games.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!