Tag: Rui Hachimura

Rui Hachimura is doubtful for Wednesday’s Lakers vs. Clippers game

The Lakers may be a bit shorthanded on Wednesday against the Clippers, as Rui Hachimura is listed as doubtful for that game.

The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 2-2 on the young season with a win on Monday night over the Orlando Magic, but it wasn’t exactly pretty.

They lacked intensity, pace and oomph all evening, and there were several points at which it appeared the young Magic would possibly win. Los Angeles rode another dominant performance from Anthony Davis (26 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots), plus 28 points and eight assists from D’Angelo Russell, but the team will need more offensive punch moving forward.

It was without Rui Hachimura, who has an eye contusion, on Monday, and it could be without him once again on Wednesday when it takes on the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers traded for 2018 NBA regular season MVP James Harden on Monday night, and there seems to be a possibility he will play against the Lakers on Wednesday.

Rui Hachimura won’t play for Lakers versus Magic on Monday

The Lakers’ deep bench will be shorthanded when they host the Orlando Magic on Monday evening.

The Los Angeles Lakers are 1-2 to start the NBA season after falling in overtime to the Sacramento Kings, 132-127, on Sunday evening. While they aren’t quite in must-win status right now, they need to right the ship and stabilize their play as soon as possible before they fall too far behind in the standings.

After two poor games to start the schedule, forward Rui Hachimura heated up early in the fourth quarter on Sunday. He hit his first three shots of the period, two of them 3-pointers, in a span of three minutes to spark a quick run that put L.A. up by five points.

Unfortunately, Hachimura will not play on Monday against the Orlando Magic because of a left eye contusion.

Some wondered why head coach Darvin Ham took Hachimura out with 7:27 remaining in the fourth quarter and didn’t bring him back for the rest of the game. Now, the Lakers will have to get it done without him.

Darvin Ham: Rui Hachimura should be more effective off the bench

Rui Hachimura won’t be starting for the Lakers on opening night, but head coach Darvin Ham feels it will benefit him and the team.

Throughout training camp and the preseason, the contenders for the Los Angeles Lakers’ fifth and final spot in their starting lineup were Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura.

For most of last season following his arrival in the Russell Westbrook trade, Vanderbilt held that spot. However, he saw his playing time dwindle during the playoffs due to his inability to space the floor with his outside shooting.

Head coach Darvin Ham said Prince will be in the starting lineup, at least for now as the Lakers prepare for their opening night matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Vanderbilt only played in their first exhibition game due to a heel ailment and will not play versus Denver on Tuesday.

Per Jovan Buha, Ham believes Hachimura will be more effective coming off the bench.

Off the bench, Hachimura should be able to play his natural game without having to defer to both LeBron James and Anthony Davis at the same time. Last year, he greatly helped the team by coming in when James was resting and giving it plenty of offensive pop, especially during the playoffs.

Rui Hachimura believes the Lakers can be an elite defensive team

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura has a supreme belief in his team’s defensive potential this season.

After the trades that remade their roster last season, the Los Angeles Lakers surprisingly became a very good defensive team after being seriously deficient in that department dating to early in the 2021-22 season. They had the fourth-highest defensive rating after the All-Star break and were fifth in that category during the playoffs.

So far during the 2023-24 preseason, the Lakers have mixed results defensively. Although they’ve held teams to fewer than 110 points twice in five games, they’ve allowed at least 125 points in the other three contests.

Still, the defensive potential of their roster is clear. It possesses plenty of wings that can defend, as well as an excellent point-of-attack defender, guard Gabe Vincent, and shot-blocking big men, Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes.

Forward Hachimura, who has plenty of defensive potential himself, is supremely confident in how strong L.A. can be on that end of the floor.

“For sure,” said Hachimura. “We can for sure be a top team, top-three defensively. Offense too, of course. We got a lot of size with Jaxson here and Christian and everybody, we can guard 1-5. We can switch everything. We haven’t done it yet but I think we have a team to be the No. 1 defense in the league.”

Maintaining the defense they had late last season will be a critical key for the Lakers as they go after their 18th NBA championship this season.

Who has stood out in the Lakers’ scrimmages so far?

According to team sources, four Lakers players have been standouts so far in training camp scrimmages.

The Los Angeles Lakers held their third full day of training camp on Thursday, and so far, things seem to be going well.

LeBron James, according to head coach Darvin Ham, has regained his explosiveness and looks like a much younger version of himself. Meanwhile, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura have been vying for the team’s third and final starting frontcourt spot, but they have reportedly been joined by Taurean Prince.

Ham has praised rookie guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, calling him the MVP of the team’s first full day of camp. Reportedly, he is one of four Lakers players who have been standouts so far in scrimmages, along with Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Christian Wood (h/t Lakers Daily).

Via The Athletic:

“Hachimura, who rejected the assumption that he had lost weight this summer, has been one of the standouts in scrimmages, along with Russell, Wood and Hood-Schifino, according to team sources,” wrote Jovan Buha.

Wood is likely going to be the team’s wild card this season because of his ability to score from multiple locations on the court, as well as the negative narrative that has dogged him, especially regarding his poor defense. Ham said on Wednesday that the big man has been active, engaged and communicative on the defensive end during practice.

Lakers team sources reveal early favorite for third starting frontcourt spot

Reportedly, there appears to be a favorite to earn the Lakers’ final starting spot in their frontcourt as training camp nears.

Four of the Los Angeles Lakers’ five starters for this season are set. D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves will start in the backcourt, and, of course, LeBron James and Anthony Davis will handle frontcourt duties.

But who will the fifth starter be?

Will it be Jarred Vanderbilt, who held that role for most of last season after he arrived in the Russell Westbrook trade? Vanderbilt is not a reliable outside shooter, but his defense often galvanized the team, and he proved he could effectively guard opponents at different positions.

Rui Hachimura, another midseason acquisition, is another prime contender thanks to his ability to score in bunches, especially in iso situations. He has had stretches of effective defense while guarding star big men such as Nikola Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns.

According to team sources, the early favorite to earn that spot is Hachimura.

Via The Athletic:

“Hachimura enters camp as the internal favorite to earn the third starting frontcourt spot, according to team sources not authorized to speak publicly.”

Training camp starts early next week, and for the first time in years, the Lakers will not have to focus on developing chemistry among a number of new starters. Instead, camp will be about strengthening the chemistry they started building last season while preparing everyone for what could be a legitimate run at the NBA championship.

LeBron James compares his mentoring of Rui Hachimura to Mr. Miyagi

LeBron James evoked a key character from the Karate Kid movie franchise when it came to mentoring Rui Hachimura this offseason.

Rui Hachimura helped spark the turnaround of the Los Angeles Lakers last season when they went from a mediocre team to one that reached the Western Conference finals. The Lakers are widely considered championship contenders this season, and Hachimura, who is 25 years of age, could be poised for a career year.

General manager Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham told the media on Thursday that the forward has been working closely with LeBron James during the offseason. After Hachimura retweeted a quote from that press conference from Pelinka, James responded by comparing his mentoring of the Japanese native to Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid franchise.

Hachimura has been very lucky to not only learn from James but to also be coached by Phil Handy, a Lakers assistant considered the best player development coach in the league.

With his one-on-one skills, the ability to finish strongly in transition and play spurts of effective defense, the forward has plenty of room for improvement moving forward.

Rui Hachimura has been working closely with LeBron James this summer

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham had some impressive things to say about the work Rui Hachimura has put in.

The Los Angeles Lakers started their miraculous turnaround last season when they traded Kendrick Nunn and three future second-round draft picks to the Washington Wizards for forward Rui Hachimura. Hachimura had been floundering on the bench behind Kyle Kuzma, and he would get more of an opportunity to shine in L.A.

He proved the type of supplementary scoring option the team needed alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, especially during the playoffs when he had a number of big games.

At age 25, Hachimura still has plenty of room for improvement. During a media session on Thursday, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham detailed how the forward has been working with LeBron James during the offseason.

What made his play even more impressive, as Ham mentioned, was some stretches of very effective defense he played against bona fide stars such as Nikola Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Japan native was used primarily off the bench last season, but there is a real chance he will be promoted to L.A.’s starting lineup this season alongside James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves.

Darvin Ham on who could start in Lakers’ frontcourt next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis

When Lakers head coach Darvin Ham addressed the media on Thursday, he gave some details on what his starting lineup will look like.

On Thursday, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham addressed the media just days before the team opens training camp. Camp will start with media day on Monday, and although there isn’t a great deal of hype surrounding this year’s edition of the Purple and Gold, the team has as much potential as any edition has in quite some time.

LeBron James is reportedly healthy and energized ahead of his 21st season, while Anthony Davis has impressed with his perimeter shooting during a minicamp James recently held in San Diego.

Ham said James, Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell will be in the starting lineup this season. The fifth spot will be an open competition (h/t Lakers Daily).

The top candidates for that fifth spot seem to be forwards Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura. Vanderbilt held that spot for most of last season after arriving in February’s Russell Westbrook trade, and he is a standout defender who has an iffy perimeter jump shot.

Hachimura, on the other hand, is an instant offense player who thrives in iso situations and in transition. He has also had some stretches of very effective defense, although he isn’t the defensive ace Vanderbilt was last spring.

Rui Hachimura talks about why he started playing basketball

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura admitted that he started playing basketball when he hit his teens for an unusual reason.

When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Rui Hachimura in late January for the bargain-basement price of little-used Kendrick Nunn and three second-round draft picks, it marked the beginning of their miraculous turnaround.

At the time, they were treading water and couldn’t reach the .500 mark. But Hachimura gave them much-needed depth and firepower at the forward position, and the arrival of D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt in February made them ready to take off.

The Lakers had one of the NBA’s best records after the All-Star break, and the momentum took them all the way to the Western Conference finals. With Hachimura and others back this season, they have a real shot at winning it all.

Growing up in Japan, the 6-foot-8 man started playing baseball, which is a popular sport there, as a child. Once he hit his teens, he switched to playing basketball, but it wasn’t for the reason most NBA players first picked up the sport.

“Baseball was my first sport, I played baseball for six years. I was 13-years-old when I switched to basketball. First memory I had was I didn’t want to play basketball, the teammates back then in junior high school, they really wanted me to play basketball because I was you know, tall, whatever, I was athletic. I just didn’t think basketball was good for me because I didn’t really like to run. They were so annoying it got to the point I’m like, ‘OK, I’m just going to go one time for practice.’ And I went the one time and for some reason, yeah, I fell in love.”

With his one-on-one scoring skills and ability to finish strongly in transition and play strong, effective defense, it looks like Hachimura chose the correct sport.