prime1time wrote:It's just funny how the goalpost keeps moving. One day it's one thing. The next day it's another thing. It's like whack-a-mole with these arguments. So let's break it down. When you draft a player and you develop him, he's supposed to match the identity of your organization. Second, Hachimura has years of chemistry with our team. Where does chemistry fit into your analysis of replacement players?
Most important is the fact that Rui commands the focus of the defense and double teams. This is the biggest flaw in your logic. You look at stats and say player x = player y. How many defenses double-team Eddie House Jr? How many defenses double-team Derrick Jones Jr? Those guys are self-checks who have no offensive skill. They cannot be compared to Hachimura. Rui right now is good enough to be the 6th man on a championship team. Hachimura's offensive success this season is actually very impressive. Especially given the fact that we are such a bad 3-point shooting team. So far this season the Wizards are 28th in the league in 3-point %. Yet Rui is just chugging along, efficiently scoring.
I'm going to tell you something you might not know. Most players in the league cannot score efficiently in 1-on-1 situations. They need the star on their team to set them up and then they can score. So what happens when the star that generates offense goes on the bench? The offense dies. You can look at stats and speak all you want to about how Hachimura is a replacement-level player. Yesterday's game is a testament to the fact that he is the prototypical 6th man scorer off the bench. No Beal, no Porzingis and Rui has his most efficient game of the season. How many replacement-level players can handle being the main focus of the defense for any stretch of the game?
When he is +20 in a win, then I'm not moving the goal posts. Those _are_ my goal posts.