Rui Hachimura and other role players on the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in an intriguing position. With Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves commanding the offense, the others have to fit in wherever they get in.
When Hachimura initially arrived in Los Angeles, he was more accustomed to touches in the mid to low post. Now he is used more as a spacer with the occasional dribble pull-up.
However, this change in role has been embraced as Hachimura is a 41.1% 3-point shooter through his four years with the Lakers. He is particularly thriving this season, averaging a career-high 14.8 points and shooting 48.5% from deep.
While there may be potential for a larger role elsewhere with that type of production, Hachimura is not concerned and is just focused on doing whatever is necessary to help the Lakers win, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“I’m not trying to be a superstar or anything. I’m just trying to help the team win – whatever they ask for. I like my role here. I’m not trying to be in a big three, I’m really trying to win the championship with this team. I like how they’ve been treating me given the roles and everything, very specific. Especially JJ has been really good with that. So, I’m happy.”
Head coach JJ Redick deserves a lot of credit for getting all of his players bought into the vision of being selfless to help the team win. Having a team-first mentality is vital to establishing a winning and eventually a championship culture.
It’s worth noting that Hachimura is in a contract year, so he needs to prove his worth to get a need deal. His ability to score is not a question mark, but it is more about doing the other things.
The Lakers’ physicality is lacking and Hachimura is a bigger body. Turning more of his focus into crashing the glass and a physical cutter can truly evaluate Redick’s offense, and Hachimura has shown a willingness to do that.
Luka Doncic & Marcus Smart praise Rui Hachimura’s two-way play
After seven seasons in the NBA, most players typically do not alter how they play. Rui Hachimura has shown he is capable of being a solid scorer, but the issue is he was not known as a high-volume rebounder or an engaged off-ball defender. There have been flashes of improvement, but more is needed due to the amount of firepower on the roster.
To Hachimura’s credit, his mentality has been a step in the right direction as it shows he wants to be a winning player. Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart noticed Hachimura’s strides on defense, recently crediting his two-way play.
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