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Discussion of the length of Rui's neck continued from here

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My boy still serving up the crow.

Rui’s big hands are an asset he’s just learning to use to his advantage.

400 likes and 2 dislikes = 99.5% Approval as of 5/21

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:400 likes and 2 dislikes = 99.5% Approval as of 5/21

Kwame Brown is not the one ... Probably not a good idea to f with that MAN

CobraCommander wrote:

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:400 likes and 2 dislikes = 99.5% Approval as of 5/21

Kwame Brown is not the one ... Probably not a good idea to f with that MAN

The likes were for Rui vs Pacers highlights. I’m not sure how people really feel about Kwame

Rui has put up some ok number this season. Nothing spectacular. However, he has also showed some signs of something more. At this point in time, we can mark him down as a good backup for the PF, SF, and SG positions. He has good versatility and is a better than average defender at those spots. Thats not a bad thing at all. Call him a good 6th man. IF he makes improvements over the off season, he CAN BE something better.

WallToWall wrote:Rui has put up some ok number this season. Nothing spectacular. However, he has also showed some signs of something more. At this point in time, we can mark him down as a good backup for the PF, SF, and SG positions. He has good versatility and is a better than average defender at those spots. Thats not a bad thing at all. Call him a good 6th man. IF he makes improvements over the off season, he CAN BE something better.

Kevin Broom says Rui shouldn’t be guaranteed anything and needs massive massive improvement according to PPA

montestewart wrote:Discussion of the length of Rui's neck...

I like the title... Rui Hachimura 2.0 - let it be an improved Rui for 2022! And let's hope that Rui "Giraffe" Hachimura gets a chance to laugh at the doubters...

Rui has been a sniper from three 7/9 since the start of the play in games. 23/35 from the field. Auspicious start to a young player's post season career.

WallToWall wrote:Rui has put up some ok numbers this season. Nothing spectacular....

No. Overall, he's put up very bad numbers. Far far below what an average guy puts up. Absolutely horrible for a 23-year old guy who was a #9 pick.

WallToWall wrote:...However, he has also showed some signs of something more....

Really? Anything you can actually point to? His 3 pt % has improved. From really really bad to just plain bad. On way below average attempts. Is that one of those "signs of something more?"

WallToWall wrote:...At this point in time, we can mark him down as a good backup for the PF, SF, and SG positions....

No. At this point we can mark him down as a bad, end of the bench journeyman. That's what he's actually achieved. Of course we can hope for more. Then again, we can "hope" for just about anything. As to calling him any kind of SG -- that ranks with the most idiotic things I've ever read about Rui.

WallToWall wrote:...He has good versatility and is a better than average defender at those spots. Thats not a bad thing at all. Call him a good 6th man. IF he makes improvements over the off season, he CAN BE something better.

This takes the cake.

So far, Rui is treading the thin line between making it in the NBA & not making it. Because of his marketing significance, he might get to play a whole career at that balance point.

He is certainly NOT "a better than average defender at those spots" -- assuming you mean the 3 positions you mentioned. He's not a plus defender at any position, & he's no defender at all at SG, because he's never played the position.

To say that "if he makes improvements... he can be... better" means absolutely nothing! It's true of anyone doing anything in any walk of life. Similarly, if he doesn't make improvements he can stay the same, & if he goes downhill he can be worse. Duh.

For clarity, Rui's scoring numbers went down this year, b/c his usage went down slightly. His scoring efficiency went up a tiny bit (as you'd expect of someone whose usage went down a tiny bit). It's nice to see the efficiency go in the right direction -- but it won't mean much until it at least reaches average! It hasn't.

The rest of his numbers sucked last year &, overall, are worse this year.

What metric do you like? PER? Rui's PER went down this year. Or, do you like Win Shares? Rui's WS/48 went down this year. Or maybe you like VORP? Down this year. WP48? Down this year.

Note that they were all bad his rookie year. So going down further is NOT a good sign.

Here's a good thing, however: Rui sells a whole lot of Wizards merch in Japan.

payitforward wrote:...Rui's scoring numbers went down this year, b/c his usage went down slightly. His scoring efficiency went up a tiny bit (as you'd expect of someone whose usage went down a tiny bit). It's nice to see the efficiency go in the right direction -- but it won't mean much until it at least reaches average! It hasn't....

Maybe you'd like some detail on that?

This year, through right now, Rui's usage was just slightly above average among all NBA PFs. He took .23 more shots per 36 minutes, & got to the line at an average rate. But, he produced just slightly below average results -- .15 fewer points than average.

The result is that Rui produced a .559 TS%. Average among all NBA 4s was .576

Think about it this way: if an average score on a test is a C, Rui got a low C or maybe a C Minus.

payitforward wrote:...The rest of his numbers sucked last year &, overall, are worse this year....

Rui's defensive rebounding is down slightly; his offensive rebounding is way down (50% of last year). His assists are down more than 30%. His steals are slightly down. TOs stayed the same. Blocks slightly down but fouls are too.

These numbers represent real things that really happen or really do not happen. They're not "metrics" or abstractions. A rebound is good. If you get fewer rebounds, you've done less that is good. It ain't up for debate.

Overall, Rui wasn't as good this year as he was last year. Since he wasn't good last year, this is not good news. So, the best thing is to deny it, right? & I'm sure that's what most will do.

Shoe wrote:Rui has been a sniper from three 7/9 since the start of the play in games. 23/35 from the field. Auspicious start to a young player's post season career.

And therein lies the path to success for Rui (IMO). He needs to hit the 3 pointer on a consistent basis to open up the rest of his offensive game.

He has gone from a horrible .287 to a bad .328 year over year (on about 50% more attempts). He needs to be nearer to .400 IMO. And that is hard when you are battling knee issues (I think that is why is FT% dropped (wild speculation) (from a terrific .829 down to .770).

Once the 3 point shot drops at a high rate, that will allow him to put the ball on the floor for his pretty good mid-range game. What I haven't seen much development on is his playmaking ability and that is a shame given his handles. If he could expand that part of his game he could actually play some SF offensively. And given his defensive rebounding and his ability to guard SFs - that might be a more natural position for him.

Either way, he needs to heal and work on his 3 pointer.

A few days ago I saw an interview with Tobias Harris where he said one of the things Doc Rivers told him when he took over as coach was that he wanted him to react more quickly when he got the ball. Doc told Harris to either quickly shoot the ball, attack the basket off the dribble or pass the ball. I’d like to see that same advice given to Rui.

CCJ and others here have compared Rui to Harris. I believe Hachimura has the potential to be as good as Harris offensively and better than Tobias defensively.

Tobias Harris at 22 vs. Rui at 22...

https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&player_id1=harrito02&p1yrfrom=2015&p1yrto=2015&player_id2=hachiru01&p2yrfrom=2021&p2yrto=2021

Rui's biggest improvement was as a perimeter defender. That's not enough. I don't see enough confidence in his skillset to be anything more than a scorer off the bench which is what I doomed him to when I said he's the next Mike Scott or Jabari Parker. I do see alot of Yi Jianlian traits in terms of lack of assertiveness & fighting through adversity. I think he's a great kid. Hard worker. Will stick in the league longer than Yi did but he's mediocre scorer with inability to bring much else to the table.

dckingsfan wrote:Tobias Harris at 22 vs. Rui at 22...

https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&player_id1=harrito02&p1yrfrom=2015&p1yrto=2015&player_id2=hachiru01&p2yrfrom=2021&p2yrto=2021

Would take Tobias 10 times out of 10. Tobias feel for the game at the same age was infinitely better.

dckingsfan wrote:

Shoe wrote:Rui has been a sniper from three 7/9 since the start of the play in games. 23/35 from the field. Auspicious start to a young player's post season career.

What I haven't seen much development on is his playmaking ability and that is a shame given his handles. If he could expand that part of his game he could actually play some SF offensively. And given his defensive rebounding and his ability to guard SFs - that might be a more natural position for him.

Which is interesting. I remember this highlight from one of the first games of the season and thinking, wow Rui’s vision really increased over the off-season.

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I don’t want to be caught in the boat of “Rui doesn’t do this because of Russ” but I have to believe Rui’s only job when he touches the ball is to shoot/score. Similarly with Deni who can create but is tasked to catch and shoot when he gets the ball.

That’s why I agree his main goal should be getting that 3 pt % to the upper 30s. But I personally am not worried about his playmaking ability given his handle. The more defenses pay attention to him, the more openings there will be for him to get assists.