The skill JJ Redick says Rui Hachimura is among ‘one of the best’ in the NBA

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers are about to his a front-loaded schedule that will take them through the month in January, and as a result, the team made the decision to cancel game-day shootarounds. The Lakers will get some help in the lineup though with the return of Rui Hachimura who had been dealing with a calf injury. For Lakers head coach JJ Redick, Hachimura’s return comes with skill the team needs.

“He’s our best catch and shoot guy,” Redick said following Lakers’ practice on Sunday. “He’s one of the best guys in the league.”

When Rui Hachimura was still with the Washington Wizards, he had the ball in his hands more often, but with the Lakers, he’s had to adapt to a more off-ball role. When he was first traded, it was playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Now, it’s James and Luka Doncic.

The result? Hachimura is putting up some of the best shooting percentages of his career over the past couple of seasons. His shot attempts have gone down since his Wizards days, but his efficiency has been better. For him, it’s just a testament to his work.

“Since I got traded here, especially playing with LeBron, AD and now Luka, those guys are gonna get a lot of attention, get double-teamed. . .so that’s the kind of stuff I’ve been working on since I got here,” Hachimura said following Lakers’ practice on Sunday. “That’s my favorite thing to do right now. So just keep doing that, keep working on it, and that’s gonna be my thing.”

Prior to the Lakers’ loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, Hachimura had missed six consecutive games due to the calf injury. He was scratched from the injury report against the Kings, but did not play. Redick acknowledged that Hachimura was only going to be available for one game of the back-to-back stretch, with him making his return against the Atlanta Hawks on a restriction of 18 minutes.

He’s appeared in 27 games this season at a little over 32 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 12.7 points and 3.8 rebounds with splits of 52.1 percent shooting from the field, 44.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 75 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His field goal percentage and 3-point percentage are both the second-highest marks of his career.

Hachimura will initially come off the bench upon his return due to his minutes restriction. Jake LaRavia will continue to start at forward for the time being.

The post The skill JJ Redick says Rui Hachimura is among ‘one of the best’ in the NBA appeared first on ClutchPoints.