For the vast majority of his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Rui Hachimura has been a starter. But after he recently returned from a calf injury, coach JJ Redick decided to bring him off the bench and hinted at the time that the forward could remain on the bench indefinitely.
Some Lakers fans had been calling for Hachimura to be reassigned to the bench in an instant offense rule in order to boost the team's second unit. It is starting to look like he is settling into a good rhythm while playing that exact role. On Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks, he scored 17 points and hit four 3-pointers, including back-to-back treys to help L.A. overcome a 15-point deficit and notch a 116-110 win. On Monday, his 23 points in 29 minutes were a big key in the team's 129-118 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Per Dan Woike of The Athletic, Hachimura doesn't exactly seem to mind being a reserve rather than a starter.
“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.”
Hachimura was traded to the Lakers by the Washington Wizards three years ago, and while some have been disappointed in his defense and rebounding, his offense, particularly his 3-point shooting, has been a definite asset for a team that has been trying to return to its former championship glory.
On the season, the Lakers are last in bench scoring at 26.2 points per game. The next-to-last team in that category, the Houston Rockets, scores 30.1 bench points a game. But in the Lakers' last eight games — the period of time during which Hachimura has been coming off the bench — they're 24th in bench scoring with 30.9 bench points per game.
This season, Hachimura is averaging 12.5 points a contest while shooting 51.1% from the field and 43.9% from 3-point range.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Rui Hachimura comments on coming off the bench for the Lakers
