Rui Hachimura

[queridiculo]

Hachimura isn't exactly fleet on his feet but he's not nearly as lead footed as Howard.

[doclinkin]

Hachimura isn't exactly fleet on his feet but he's not nearly as lead footed as Howard.

And Juwan was a fundamentally sound rebounder.


I still like the knock-off Melo comparison. With a bit more “try-hard” on defense. Similar size. Similar FIBA game. Similar midrange, which makes sense since Rui learned his game from watching Melo on video he says. So his game is 75% Melo, 25% Gonzaga Big Man school.

But now he’s trying to graft on some defense after the fact. We will see how that works.

[dangermouse]

Whoever said Japanese Paul Pierce is on the money imo

Japanese import version of Paul Pierce who plays PF

[Ruzious]

I really like the Grant Hill comparison....Noones made it yet but when they do I’ll really like it.

I don't see the Grant Hill. Trying to think of a good comp.... Maybe Juwan Howard ?

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Howard isn't a perfect comp, but it's probably the best comp in the thread. He's not as good a rebounder as Howard, but he goes to the basket stronger.

[nate33]

I think Rui is a better more quick-footed than Howard, and he has a better wingspan. Defensively, it will allow him to be more of a ball hawk and shot blocker on defense than Howard ever was. Howard was stronger and a position defender and rebounder, but not a shot blocker.

Offensively, the Howard comparison is really good. I think Rui has a bit more SF skills in his game - a bit better of a faceup game and a better handle in the open court. Howard looks a lot like Gonzaga Rui, but not as much like FIBA Rui.

[FAH1223]

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[Shoe]

This franchise needs Rui to be good. It was easy for the Spurs to build a culture of inconspicuousness and unselfishness when their best player was Tim Duncan. Wizards need to embrace that identity of low key personality, professionalism and it depends on Rui and Troy Brown being good enough on the court to be credible leaders. I like Wall's competitive spirit, but sometimes you just need the best player/ guy with the biggest paycheck to not get too high or too low.

[Najee12]

I really like the Grant Hill comparison....Noones made it yet but when they do I’ll really like it.

I don't see the Grant Hill. Trying to think of a good comp.... Maybe Juwan Howard ?

Rui Hachimura certainly is not comparable to Grant Hill (small forward with elite one-on-one skills, triple-double threat). Hachimura is more versatile than Juwan Howard (a classic 1990s post-up power forward who could play only that one position). He has the potential to play both small forward and power forward.

Hachimura is not as gifted as a scorer as Carmelo Anthony was; I believe Hachimura is bigger than Anthony was at this stage of their careers (Anthony got bigger in his New York days). Probably a better comparison to me is pre-knee injury Terry Cummings:

Watch on YouTube

Cummings was a combination forward with a good jump shot, solid post game, a solid defender and rebounder. I don't see Hachimura putting up as high scoring averages as Cummings did coming into the NBA, but I can see him becoming a consistent player with Cumming's upside.

Another comparison I can see with Hachimura is with former Indiana Pacers forward (and current CBS commentator) Clark Kellogg, who also was a big forward who could play inside and outside. Like Cummings, knee injuries derailed Kellogg's career.

[Ruzious]

I really like the Grant Hill comparison....Noones made it yet but when they do I’ll really like it.

I don't see the Grant Hill. Trying to think of a good comp.... Maybe Juwan Howard ?

Rui Hachimura certainly is not comparable to Grant Hill (small forward with elite one-on-one skills, triple-double threat). Hachimura is more versatile than Juwan Howard (a classic 1990s post-up power forward who could play only that one position). He has the potential to play both small forward and power forward.

Hachimura is not as gifted as a scorer as Carmelo Anthony was; I believe Hachimura is bigger than Anthony was at this stage of their careers (Anthony got bigger in his New York days). Probably a better comparison to me is pre-knee injury Terry Cummings:

Watch on YouTube

Cummings was a combination forward with a good jump shot, solid post game, a solid defender and rebounder. I don't see Hachimura putting up as high scoring averages as Cummings did coming into the NBA, but I can see him becoming a consistent player with Cumming's upside.

Another comparison I can see with Hachimura is with former Indiana Pacers forward (and current CBS commentator) Clark Kellogg, who also was a big forward who could play inside and outside. Like Cummings, knee injuries derailed Kellogg's career.

Cummings was a classic old school PF. I would not call him a combo forward. If he played in today's NBA, he'd probably be a smallball center.

[doclinkin]

Hachimura is not as gifted as a scorer as Carmelo Anthony was; I believe Hachimura is bigger than Anthony was at this stage of their careers (Anthony got bigger in his New York days).

Well no doubt. Few are as gifted a scorer as Melo. Why I said a discount Melo. But you can see how He has patterned his game after him, as he claims to have done. The fadey jumper. The mid range moves. Spins in traffic.

(Check ~1:40 of this Nuggets Melo mix for a spin that it looks like Rui must have rewound hundreds of times)

https://youtu.be/wWgR24anrY4

He doesn’t have the fake jab step that Melo developed in NY and came to rely too much on. But he has the aggression of the Nuggets era Melo on mixtapes.

And FIBA Hachimura looks like he wants to be Olympic Melo.

As for body size. They’re pretty close. Melo played always at around 6’8” 240lbs with a 7’ wingspan. Hachimura is 6’8” 234lbs with a 7’2” wingspan.


The hopeful sign to me is the evidence of Hachimura being a quick study. He claims to have learned how he does by patterning his game after internet videos of Carmelo. And in his pre Gonzaga FIBA game he already had those moves.

I wouldn’t say Melo is the best guy to continue to imitate. But I like that he can process and input information from study. Translate video into physical practice. It’s a hopeful sign. In Summerleague they talked about how they were teaching him NOT to fadevon his jumper. And in his 25pt game you could see he was going up with better balance and a stable base.

[Najee12]

Cummings was a classic old school PF. I would not call him a combo forward. If he played in today's NBA, he'd probably be a smallball center.

Terry Cummings played both small forward and power forward with the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee (I did watch TC play both at DePaul and the NBA). He became exclusively a power forward when he went to San Antonio when the team started Sean Elliott at small forward.

[80sballboy]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/7/16/20689944/nba-summer-league-rookies-brandon-clarke-grizzlies-jaxson-hayes-pelicans-rj-barrett-rui-hachimura

9. Rui Hachimura, F, Washington Wizards


Rui Hachimura, the Japanese star for Gonzaga, explained
Hachimura scored at Gonzaga and he scored again in summer league, averaging 19.3 points per game on 59 percent true shooting over three games in Vegas. Hachimura does his best work from mid-range, showing soft touch on his jumper out to 18-feet while also having the strength to create separation and finish through contact. He played one of the best games of any rookie in summer league, finishing with 25 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting against the Hawks.


The question with Hachimura is what he brings to the table outside of scoring. He had only two assists through 95 minutes in Vegas, failing to leverage his scoring ability to make his teammates better. He also didn’t provide much resistance defensively, struggling with his rotations and getting only one steal (it’s worth noting he did have five blocks). Hachimura is talented enough to put up numbers as a rookie on what’s likely to be a miserable Wizards team, but his impact on winning remains a major question mark until he improves as a passer and defender.

[nate33]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/7/16/20689944/nba-summer-league-rookies-brandon-clarke-grizzlies-jaxson-hayes-pelicans-rj-barrett-rui-hachimura

9. Rui Hachimura, F, Washington Wizards


Rui Hachimura, the Japanese star for Gonzaga, explained
Hachimura scored at Gonzaga and he scored again in summer league, averaging 19.3 points per game on 59 percent true shooting over three games in Vegas. Hachimura does his best work from mid-range, showing soft touch on his jumper out to 18-feet while also having the strength to create separation and finish through contact. He played one of the best games of any rookie in summer league, finishing with 25 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting against the Hawks.


The question with Hachimura is what he brings to the table outside of scoring. He had only two assists through 95 minutes in Vegas, failing to leverage his scoring ability to make his teammates better. He also didn’t provide much resistance defensively, struggling with his rotations and getting only one steal (it’s worth noting he did have five blocks). Hachimura is talented enough to put up numbers as a rookie on what’s likely to be a miserable Wizards team, but his impact on winning remains a major question mark until he improves as a passer and defender.

Did he watch the games or just read the stat sheet?

I thought Rui was pretty good defensively.

[80sballboy]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/7/16/20689944/nba-summer-league-rookies-brandon-clarke-grizzlies-jaxson-hayes-pelicans-rj-barrett-rui-hachimura

9. Rui Hachimura, F, Washington Wizards


Rui Hachimura, the Japanese star for Gonzaga, explained
Hachimura scored at Gonzaga and he scored again in summer league, averaging 19.3 points per game on 59 percent true shooting over three games in Vegas. Hachimura does his best work from mid-range, showing soft touch on his jumper out to 18-feet while also having the strength to create separation and finish through contact. He played one of the best games of any rookie in summer league, finishing with 25 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting against the Hawks.


The question with Hachimura is what he brings to the table outside of scoring. He had only two assists through 95 minutes in Vegas, failing to leverage his scoring ability to make his teammates better. He also didn’t provide much resistance defensively, struggling with his rotations and getting only one steal (it’s worth noting he did have five blocks). Hachimura is talented enough to put up numbers as a rookie on what’s likely to be a miserable Wizards team, but his impact on winning remains a major question mark until he improves as a passer and defender.

Did he watch the games or just read the stat sheet?

I thought Rui was pretty good defensively.

Typical metric-head, probably just watched one game early where he struggled defensively. He wasn't great but he wasn't as bad as he looked at times in college. Now the assists are another story.

[Ruzious]

Cummings was a classic old school PF. I would not call him a combo forward. If he played in today's NBA, he'd probably be a smallball center.

Terry Cummings played both small forward and power forward with the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee (I did watch TC play both at DePaul and the NBA). He became exclusively a power forward when he went to San Antonio when the team started Sean Elliott at small forward.

Sorry, but I'm a Bucks fan from the days of Lew Alcindor, and I remember this really well. I was very excited about the trade because they NEEDED a power player - as Bob Lanier retired. They traded star SF Marques Johnson, because they needed a big PF; not a SF. They also included swingman Junior Bridgeman and backup C Harvey Catchings in the deal, because bigs were considered much more valuable then. Cummings was never a SF for Milwaukee. The reason they made the trade was because they needed a big. And the trade worked - they had good years with Cummings - he was easily their best big for most of his time in Milwaukee.

[80sballboy]

Cummings was a classic old school PF. I would not call him a combo forward. If he played in today's NBA, he'd probably be a smallball center.

Terry Cummings played both small forward and power forward with the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee (I did watch TC play both at DePaul and the NBA). He became exclusively a power forward when he went to San Antonio when the team started Sean Elliott at small forward.

Sorry, but I'm a Bucks fan from the days of Lew Alcindor, and I remember this really well. I was very excited about the trade because they NEEDED a power player - as Bob Lanier retired. They traded star SF Marques Johnson, because they needed a big PF; not a SF. They also included swingman Junior Bridgeman and backup C Harvey Catchings in the deal, because bigs were considered much more valuable then. Cummings was never a SF for Milwaukee. The reason they made the trade was because they needed a big. And the trade worked - they had good years with Cummings - he was easily their best big for most of his time in Milwaukee.

I remember Cummings as just a very good forward who could shoot it well. Power forward's body but I wouldn't say he was traditional at the time like a Paul Silas, Big E, Mailman, or Maurice Lucas. In 1987-88, Randy Breuer and Jack Sikma started up front, so sure, Cummings played small forward by default.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/cummite01.html

[payitforward]

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/7/16/20689944/nba-summer-league-rookies-brandon-clarke-grizzlies-jaxson-hayes-pelicans-rj-barrett-rui-hachimura

Did he watch the games or just read the stat sheet?

I thought Rui was pretty good defensively.

Typical metric-head, probably just watched one game early where he struggled defensively. He wasn't great but he wasn't as bad as he looked at times in college. Now the assists are another story.

Absolutely. Guy doesn't say what you want him to say, take care of it by calling him a name.

Most of what he says about players in the whole article seems pretty much correct & perceptive. He did put Rui at the 9th best rookie showing in the SL.

Rui Hachimura did have a pretty good SL, & he is a promising prospect. I look forward to watching him. I'll be interested to see whether he develops much & at what pace he develops. I'm not sure what good can be done by mixing up batch after batch of Kool Aid on this board & serving it to each other.

Notice who was the best SL performer according to this article. You wouldn't rather have him, would you? Or how about the 2d best? Ditto through the first 8 -- for one reason or another, & any reason will do, Rui is preferable to any of them, right?

[DCZards]

Did he watch the games or just read the stat sheet?

I thought Rui was pretty good defensively.

Typical metric-head, probably just watched one game early where he struggled defensively. He wasn't great but he wasn't as bad as he looked at times in college. Now the assists are another story.

Absolutely. Guy doesn't say what you want him to say, take care of it by calling him a name.

Most of what he says about players in the whole article seems pretty much correct & perceptive. He did put Rui at the 9th best rookie showing in the SL.

Rui Hachimura did have a pretty good SL, & he is a promising prospect. I look forward to watching him. I'll be interested to see whether he develops much & at what pace he develops. I'm not sure what good can be done by mixing up batch after batch of Kool Aid on this board & serving it to each other.

Notice who was the best SL performer according to this article. You wouldn't rather have him, would you? Or how about the 2d best? Ditto through the first 8 -- for one reason or another, & any reason will do, Rui is preferable to any of them, right?

Brandon Clarke had an awesome summer league. I knew about his effort, rebounding and shotblocking, but he also shot the ball better than I expected.

Hamichura had a very good SL as well. He showed the offensive confidence and versatility that probably helped lead to him being the 9th pick in the draft.

I don't think you can say for sure at this point whether Clarke or Rui is the better prospect or which one you would rather have on your roster going forward. You certainly can't base anything on a handful of summer league games. Afterall, Glen Rice Jr. was the unanimous MVP of the 2014 SL.

[Illmatic12]

Typical metric-head, probably just watched one game early where he struggled defensively. He wasn't great but he wasn't as bad as he looked at times in college. Now the assists are another story.

Absolutely. Guy doesn't say what you want him to say, take care of it by calling him a name.

Most of what he says about players in the whole article seems pretty much correct & perceptive. He did put Rui at the 9th best rookie showing in the SL.

Rui Hachimura did have a pretty good SL, & he is a promising prospect. I look forward to watching him. I'll be interested to see whether he develops much & at what pace he develops. I'm not sure what good can be done by mixing up batch after batch of Kool Aid on this board & serving it to each other.

Notice who was the best SL performer according to this article. You wouldn't rather have him, would you? Or how about the 2d best? Ditto through the first 8 -- for one reason or another, & any reason will do, Rui is preferable to any of them, right?

Brandon Clarke had an awesome summer league. I knew about his effort, rebounding and shotblocking, but he also shot the ball better than I expected.

Hamichura had a very good SL as well. He showed the offensive confidence and versatility that probably helped lead to him being the 9th pick in the draft.

I don't think you can say for sure at this point whether Clarke or Rui is the better prospect or which one you would rather have on your roster going forward. You certainly can't base anything on a handful of summer league games. Afterall, Glen Rice Jr. was the unanimous MVP of the 2014 SL.

Past SL MVP winners:



Obviously this isn’t really indicative of anything . But it’s interesting to note that Glen Rice Jr , Josh Hart, and Brandon Clarke were all 23yo and among the oldest 1st-2nd yr players in summer league in their campaigns.

[closg00]

Congrats to Rui

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