JJ Redick says Rui Hachimura has been ‘awesome’ during preseason
According to JJ Redick, Rui Hachimura has stood out in this year’s training camp with the Lakers thanks to his commitment to the details and his play on the court.
Rui Hachimura has been an important role player for the Lakers since he was traded from Washington.
When he's at his best, he's an elite wing who can be depended on to hit the open 3-pointer and knock down the midrange jumper.
So far, during his first preseason with Lakers head coach JJ Redick, Hachimura has gotten rave reviews for his play in games and during training camp.
"Rui's been great," Redick said after the Lakers played the Warriors. "He, I think, was still getting acclimated when we had our first preseason game. He'd only practiced three times and was not a full participant in most of September. He was in and out of the gym and he had some family stuff. He's been super committed to our classroom in the mornings and he – we talked about today – feels like that's been very helpful and everything we've asked him to do, he's done. So he's been awesome."
It's always good to hear the person in charge talking about how well a player is doing in the stuff we don't see, like film work and extended parts of practice.
On the court, Hachimura's improvement is noticeable as well.
He's averaging 12.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in the preseason, with his rebounding numbers being a significant leap from his career average of 4.8.
When you think of the young Lakers players, guys like Dalton Knecht, Max Christie and Jalen Hood-Schifino come to mind, but Hachimura is still early in his career.
He is 25 years old and entering his sixth NBA season. His prime has not arrived, but if he can improve in the margins, he can elevate his game and the Lakers' ceiling.
If he continues to crash the boards like in the preseason, once regular season play starts, that will be huge for this team.
They need him to use his size and help Anthony Davis get those offensive boards so Los Angeles can get more shots off and grab rebounds to end possessions on the other end of the floor.
If Hachumura can keep up his preseason play and transfer it to the regular season, we might get the best-case scenario for him this year.
If that happens, along with Christie taking a leap and Redick's modern offense operating well, that might be enough to get the Lakers to a 50-win season.
That win total would give them a chance of being this season's Dallas Mavericks, a team with two stars near the top of the conference that can be dangerous come playoff time.
And when you have LeBron James and AD on your squad, that’s all you can want: a chance to compete for the title entering the postseason.
With Hachumra as his best version of himself, he can unlock that possibility.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.