Hachimura is looking like a completely different player.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 123-116 in the 2024-2025 NBA regular season at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, on Saturday night.
The win was significant for the Lakers in several ways. The Lakers fell behind by as many as 22 points early in the game due to a barrage of three-pointers from Phoenix, but rallied in the second half behind the play of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reeves. With the win, the Lakers have won two straight to open the season and are looking like a different team than 카지노사이트 모음 last season.
With two straight wins, there are plenty of people to praise. Whether it’s new head coach J.J. Redick’s offensive gameplan, the one-two punch of James and Davis, or Reeves’ improved play, the Lakers are doing everything right.
However, there is one player who has done a 180-degree turnaround from last season. This is Japanese forward Rui Hachimura. Hachimura was traded to the Lakers from the Washington Wizards at the 2022-2023 trade deadline. The ninth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Hachimura’s profile has always been the same.
He’s good on offense, but weak on defense. His offense was old-school, with post-ups and mid-range shots, and he was weak on the three-point shot, which is the trend in modern basketball. He was also physically strong, but his defense was poor. These were the reasons why Washington gave up on Hachimura.
His move to the Lakers was similar. He had flashes of brilliance on offense and certainly took some of the pressure off James in the scoring department, but his poor defense put a strain on James and Davis’ stamina. He wasn’t a 20+ point per game player on offense either, so his value was low. The problem was that the Lakers had thin depth at the forward position, and Hachimura was forced to play a lot of minutes.
After the 2023-2024 season, trade rumors began to surface for Hachimura. However, no team was willing to make a move for him. Hachimura is a high-paid player with an annualized salary of around $18 million through the 2025-2026 season. Other teams decided he wasn’t worth that much.
In the 2024-2025 season, Hachimura was a different player, and his defense turned from a weakness into a strength. In the opening game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 23, Hachimura had an incredible defensive performance.
His defense against Minnesota’s forward line, which is one of the strongest in the NBA, was incredible. Hachimura is finally starting to use his great physicality on defense, and his diligent grooming disrupts opposing offenses. This is something we haven’t seen from Hachimura in the 2023-2024 season. Hachimura’s defense helped Minnesota’s forwards Julius Randle and Nazr Reed both struggle.
Against Phoenix, Hachimura was tasked with defending Kevin Durant. In the first half, he was completely unsuccessful in controlling Durant, but in the second half, he was somewhat successful. Even when he did allow Durant to score, he was able to drain him of energy by harassing him endlessly.
Hachimura’s performance against the Sacramento Kings on the 27th was equally impressive. Hachimura was matched up against Sacramento’s star forward, Keegan Murray, and he had the matchup advantage against Murray. Murray defended James on the perimeter, but was unable to do much on offense as Hachimura blocked him.
Despite the turnaround on defense, Hachimura has been good on offense. Hachimura had 18 points and five rebounds against Minnesota, 14 points and seven rebounds against Phoenix, and 18 points and nine rebounds against Sacramento. At this point in his career, Hachimura is clearly an offense-first forward.
That should end the Lakers’ forward woes. The Lakers have been on the hunt for a forward this offseason. One of their top targets was Jeremy Grant of the Portland Trail Blazers. If Hachimura maintains his current form, the Lakers won’t have to risk their lives to land Grant.
But can Hachimura continue his current form?