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Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura put in plenty of work in the gym during the season suspension and that was apparently on full display during practice on Sunday night.
Head coach Scott Brooks said on a conference call with reporters that Hachimura had perhaps his best practice since arriving at the Walt Disney World Resort. On one play, in particular, Hachimura whipped out a new move Brooks hadn’t seen before.
He had a great practice today. I thought he had one of his best practices. He had one move: He rebounded it, took it the length of the court, made a nice move, [had] a couple of hard dribbles and finished it with the slam. I thought that was very impressive. I have not seen him do that this year but that was something new.
With the Wizards down three key players in John Wall, Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans, the team will need each player on the roster to step up and help fill the scoring load. Brooks said that Hachimura will have a chance to play a bigger role when the Wizards resume the season on July 31.
He is going to get a great opportunity to have a bigger role. Having a bigger role isn’t necessarily scoring more and rebounding, it’s about leading. He’s going to have to use his voice, that’s something he struggles with but not just him, all rookies. It’s hard to have a voice when you’re just coming into the league but this is a very unique situation.
Hachimura will be counted on to help lead the Wizards and it appears as though his hard work in the gym this summer has him prepared to take on an increased role when the Wizards return to action.
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