During the first half of this season, as well as all of last season, the Los Angeles Lakers were starving for viable depth at the forward position. They had virtually none, and when LeBron James went to the bench or was unable to play, that lack of depth was glaring.
But in January, they pulled off a trade for Rui Hachimura, who was then a member of the Washington Wizards. He was stuck on Washington’s bench behind Kyle Kuzma and was seemingly going to waste, and it looked like the Lakers needed him more than the Wizards did.
Hachimura immediately bolstered LA’s depth, and as a result, retaining him this summer (he’s about to become a restricted free agent) is a big priority for the team.
Hachimura’s regular season stats in 33 games with the Lakers
22.4 minutes
9.6 points
4.7 rebounds
0.7 assists
48.5 percent field-goal shooting
29.6 percent 3-point shooting
72.1 percent free throw shooting
Hachimura’s 2023 playoff stats
24.3 minutes
12.2 points
3.6 rebounds
0.6 assists
55.7 percent field-goal shooting
48.7 percent 3-point shooting
88.2 percent free throw shooting
Takeaways
During the regular season, Hachimura’s production came and went. There were plenty of extended stretches where it almost seemed as if the Lakers forgot about him offensively, as he was effectively rendered a spot-up shooter instead of being featured in their offense.
But that changed come playoff time. He became a major spark plug for LA, and he started the playoffs with a bang by scoring 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting and 5-of-6 from downtown in his Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
That turned out to be the first of four 20-plus point games for the Japanese native in this year’s playoffs. In particular, he shone brightly in the first round against Memphis and in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
In addition, Hachimura had some moments defensively. In a March 31st win at the Minnesota Timberwolves, he effectively guarded Karl-Anthony Towns, who is three inches taller and nearly 20 pounds heavier than him. Then against Denver in the playoffs, he found a way to contain Nikola Jokic and prevent the two-time MVP from easily backing him down into the paint.
Final grade: B/B-plus
Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire