For most of his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Rui Hachimura has been entrenched as a starter. Hachimura’s game has grown exponentially in this time as well as he has become the team’s most consistent 3-point shooter while greatly improving his rebounding and defensive effort.
But since returning from a calf injury, Hachimura has been coming off the bench due to a minutes restriction with Jake LaRavia remaining in the starting lineup. And if there were concerns about how Hachimura might feel about this, the forward shut that down saying that he doesn’t mind the bench role and is more concerned with winning, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
“A lot of people think about stats and all that, but for me it’s like winning. That’s gonna help us to everybody get paid,” Hachimura told The Athletic. “… And especially with this second unit, I get more touches too. … I don’t mind. It’s more so like, who’s finishing the game? Or who’s playing more? For me, that’s more important.”
That mindset and buy-in is why Hachimura has grown into a much better player over the years. And he is right in that he stands to see more touches offensively with the reserve unit that has more defensive-minded players. The forward even admitted that in prior years he would’ve struggled not touching the ball for a whole quarter, but these days has figured out other ways to affect the game:
“It’s funny. I think I got used to it. It’s four years here, and [the] first three years I was, I didn’t know what to do,” Hachimura said. “If I didn’t touch the ball for like whole quarter, like, it’s done for me. I can’t do anything for the game, but now I’m used to it. I think it’s more so the mental. When I had that always I used to think ‘Oh f—. Like I couldn’t shoot. I didn’t touch the ball.’ But now, I’m trying to think ‘OK, what I can do to help to win this game? Rebound, box out, help defense. Those are little movements that’s gonna keep me into the game. So then, when I get to the ball, I’m still in rhythm.”
With Austin Reaves set to return soon from injury, head coach JJ Redick will have to figure out his lineups and rotations, but Hachimura made it clear that he enjoys the role he is in right now:
“I like my role here,” he said. “The things that I like to do, I’m doing here. I just gotta embrace doing whatever it takes to win for the team.”
His performance in the Lakers’ comeback victory over the Dallas Mavericks was massive as he hit multiple clutch shots while being a force on the boards as well. If Hachimure can regularly give that level of effort off the bench, it greatly improves the Lakers’ second unit which has struggled all season long.
Rui Hachimura excited for Austin Reaves’ return to the Lakers
The Lakers will soon be welcoming back Reaves to the lineup as well as the guard has been sidelined with a calf injury since Christmas and Hachimura, like the rest of the Lakers, is excited for his return.
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