The Los Angeles Lakers are appreciably skinny on the middle position, with Jaxson Hayes probably to be the simplest to be had alternative for head educate JJ Redick withinside the playoffs. That approach that, as soon as the postseason begins, L.A. goes to dole out a heavy dose of small-ball lineups. And in the ones lineups, Redick is likeliest to have Rui Hachimura gambling the middle position.
Hachimura has established himself over the past years to be an affordable small-ball middle in small doses. He furnished serviceable paintings in opposition to Nikola Jokic withinside the playoffs in every of the ultimate seasons. Him and LeBron James have the size, electricity and quickness to make existence as hard as feasible for opposing facilities at the same time as additionally being capable of get out to the perimeter.
Redick agrees that Hachimura is essential to the Lakers’ small-ball plans, and he detailed why as the team prepares for the stretch run of the regular season.
“Three things,” Redick said. “I’ll start with the fact that he’s a body. So if he’s not there, we don’t have enough players to do it. That’s just the reality.
“Secondly… We realized early on in the season, the best thing for us and for him defensively was just to have him switch. Whatever the switching groups were, he was part of each switching group. I think he’s done a good job, whether it’s been guarding a smaller player, guarding bigger wings, guarding bigs, he’s done a good job of navigating that. So that’s a big part of it, just his ability to switch.
“And then he’s a laser. He actually shoots the ball extraordinarily well. The pictures towards Indiana the opposite night, making large pictures towards Memphis, after which I assume he’s gotten higher all through the season. I assume Beau (Levesque) has achieved a great task with him with movie and together along with his PD paintings of simply attacking closeouts after which making true selections as soon as that benefit is created on the ones closeouts. Whether it’s a paint choice or attending to a subsequent action, scoring on the rim, being a kick-out passer. He’s advanced there this year, from wherein he become to now has been actually true… And let’s say you’re gambling a laser lineup, that’s now no longer simply to shoot 3s. It receives the large farfar from the basket.”
Hachimura become an immediate effect acquisition whilst the Lakers traded for him in early 2023, and as he has grown as a player, the significance of his function has grown as well. He is one of the key portions for L.A. heading into their first actual postseason as championship contenders in his 3 years with the team.
