Rui Hachimura

[JWizmentality]

Not at all! As I said, "it doesn't matter."

But, I have. Just as I've looked at Barrett's numbers, Morant's numbers, P.J. Washington's numbers, etc.

Not because of Rui, & certainly not because anyone's #s in 50 or 60 minutes somehow "matter" in assessing that player -- rookie, veteran, or anyone! Obviously they don't. I have looked for a much simpler reason. Because I'm interested to know how they're doing.

You're not, apparently. Which is fine. So (messin' right back ) don't click on this, or you'll be forced to find out.

Spoiler:

Clarke is absolutely killing it so far -- though he has only played in 2 games (@50 minutes). So is P.J. Washington in @70 minutes.

So are Terence Davis & Kendrick Nunn (both undrafted, I believe?). Hunter & White are playing pretty well too, as is Williams. While Morant, Garland, Culver, Reddish & Nickeil-Alexander are not.

Settle down. It' a marathon not a sprint.

[WallToWall]

I am going out on a limb... Hachimura will be ROY.

So... it's not like you're looking at how any other rookies are playing, right?

I made this prediction in comparing the front-runner rookies...Barrett, Washington, Nunn, Morant, White, Herro, Clarke, and Hunter. Obviously no Zion yet. All of them have weaknesses in their game. However, I think Rui has a chance to show the most improvement over the season. He can learn how to get to the line more, and fix his 3ptr shot. As the season goes, I expect to see Rui and Barrett have the most double-doubles. Among rookies, I expect Rui to be top 3 in avg pts/game, avg rbs/gm, FT%, and top 5 in FG%. As a starter, he will also log lots of meaningful minutes for the team. As the season goes, I predict he will make those clutch shots that people remember. He has been staying out of foul trouble, while still providing reasonable defense. It would make for a strong case for ROY. All this would be noticed by the sports writers, broadcasters, and whoever else votes for ROY.

As of yesterday and among rookies, Rui has the 3rd most rbs, 6th most pts (playing 1 less game than others), he's up there in FT%, and 19th in FG%. Again, as others have stated, if a few of those 3ptrs fall for him, his average goes up. And as others have mentioned also, we're talking about a very small sample size. However, after watching Barrett, Morant, Nunn, Clarke, and Washington in at least 2 games, the eye test tells me that Rui can best them. If he will...well...thats what makes this "out on a limb" prediction for me.

[prime1time]

As far as I'm concerned Rui will be right in the conversation. He might not win, but he has the skills/talent and he has the opportunity. We'll see what he ends up doing. Sample sizes are simply too small right now to draw any definitive conclusions.

[payitforward]

Absolutely, he has a solid chance to be RoY -- &, more importantly, to be an outstanding NBA player.

[bgroban]

Russell Westbrook on Rui Hachimura: “He’s good, mature, and will be a great player.”

[nate33]

With the last game bumping Hachimura's 3P% up to a more believable 27% (from 0%), his overall stats now look pretty impressive for a rookie:

18.0 points
7.0 rebounds
1.3 assists
0.5 steals
0.3 blocks
1.0 turnover
1.3 fouls
.544 TS%
112 ORtg
17.3 PER

That's a rock solid player right there. I wish he'd be a bit more active with his hands though. The absurdly low foul rate shows that he isn't gambling at all. I'd rather see 3.0 fouls if it meant he was averaging 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks. He's got to get used to the fact that, in the NBA, the refs don't call fouls as much for reaching in.

[tontoz]

It seems like he makes "business decisions" fairly frequently near the rim. Some of those players I would like to see him challenge at the rim.

[dckingsfan]

As far as I'm concerned Rui will be right in the conversation. He might not win, but he has the skills/talent and he has the opportunity. We'll see what he ends up doing. Sample sizes are simply too small right now to draw any definitive conclusions.

Yep - only 15 rookies who have played more than 80 minutes this season. That alone will put him in the mix.

[Illmatic12]

Good observations on his help defense. In FIBA and Sunmer League he was actually a more prolific help defender who got blocks + steals, but has been slightly hesitant to do it so far.I’ve noticed that a lot of young players are so concerned with trying to follow the defensive scheme and not get yelled at by the coach , so they are a bit over-hesitant to help off of their man and make “free safety” type plays.

Oubre was the opposite , he would gamble and jump out of position for highlight plays that translated to steals + blocks. But the actual man he was guarding ? He’ll let them score over and over..

As Rui gains experience and studies film on players tendencies, I think he’ll become more comfortable knowing when to freelance vs when to stay solid. These are things you learn with veteran experience that allow you to make split-second calculations on the court.

For instance if you’re guarding Rudy Gay on the wing and Derozan is coming down the middle of the lane with the ball, you need to understand Demar Derozan’s tendencies on the scouting report - he is a tunnel vision player, when he has a right-handed drive he is most likely not going to pass the ball even if you put a gun to his head, so in that particular moment it’s okay to forget about Rudy and sell out to stop the drive which is the clear and present danger. Once Rui has seen the same teams/players a few times he will start to pick up on these things and learn

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[tontoz]

The rookie ladder on nba.com is out:

5. Rui Hachimura, Washington Wizards
Hachimura is winning over fans and teammates alike with his early play. The No. 9 pick has started all four games for the 1-3 Wizards, averaging 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds (tied for 1st among rookies) on 46.9% shooting. Coach Scott Brooks is giving the former Gonzaga forward free rein, so he should be a regular on the Ladder. “He's going to be special in this league. I think he has the potential to be a star," Isaiah Thomas said of his teammate. "I always tell him he reminds me of Kawhi Leonard when he first came into the league; big body, big hands, midrange game, he knows the game really well."

https://www.nba.com/rookie-ladder

[WallToWall]

The rookie ladder on nba.com is out:

5. Rui Hachimura, Washington Wizards
Hachimura is winning over fans and teammates alike with his early play. The No. 9 pick has started all four games for the 1-3 Wizards, averaging 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds (tied for 1st among rookies) on 46.9% shooting. Coach Scott Brooks is giving the former Gonzaga forward free rein, so he should be a regular on the Ladder. “He's going to be special in this league. I think he has the potential to be a star," Isaiah Thomas said of his teammate. "I always tell him he reminds me of Kawhi Leonard when he first came into the league; big body, big hands, midrange game, he knows the game really well."

https://www.nba.com/rookie-ladder

Nunn is listed (currently) as the front runner. Why? He was in the G-league last year. That should disqualify him from being considered a rookie. Shouldn't it?

[prime1time]

I think Rui will end up having one of the better rookie years we've seen. Other rookie's might have good games here or there, but there's a consistency to Rui's game. The same things he did in college are working in the pros. And now that his 3-ball is starting to fall he's going to be so hard to guard. Probably the best part of the game yesterday was Rui's big smile after he made 3 3's in a row. Here's the thing, if he can knock them down there's no reason for him not to take them at a high rate. If he can get up to like 6 or 7 a game at 35% it will just be wonderful.

Like I've said in previous posts, once the 3-point shot starts to fall we can talk about other aspects of his game. In 3 years I can imagine his ball handling being significantly, play making, passing and defense all being considerably better. It's early but for a draft class that was looked down upon, the players all like really good. Just funny how basketball works out. Compare Rui to Jaylen Brown or Andrew Wiggins. After watching these 4 games would you take those guys over him? Those guys are athletes that play basketball. Just because you work on your 3-point shot doesn't mean you have great basketball feel. Rui has a great basketball feel and a scorer's mentality.

Just look at all the simple plays he's made so far. Beating opposing teams in transition for easy layups. Moving without the ball for easy mid-range jumpers. Establishing low post position against smaller players. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I was called out by many posters on this board for my predictions. I said he'd be a succesful scorer. I said he'd be our second option. I said he'd get a ton of PT. I said if he knocked down 2 3's a game he'd average around 20 ppg. A ton of people called me out.

Yet here we are. In his first 4 games, Rui is clearly the best rookie I've seen to wear a rookie uniform. And he's just starting to scratch the surface of his potential. Here's a question that's nearly impossible to answer. What is Rui's ceiling?

[prime1time]

Also, I'll go ahead and say it. If Rui get's his 3 point attempts up to 6 or 7 a game, the ROY is his to lose. Maybe Morant and Zion can compete but it'll be tough. If you have to worry about Rui knocking down 3's, he is simply too skilled offensively to be slowed down.

[nate33]

The rookie ladder on nba.com is out:

5. Rui Hachimura, Washington Wizards
Hachimura is winning over fans and teammates alike with his early play. The No. 9 pick has started all four games for the 1-3 Wizards, averaging 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds (tied for 1st among rookies) on 46.9% shooting. Coach Scott Brooks is giving the former Gonzaga forward free rein, so he should be a regular on the Ladder. “He's going to be special in this league. I think he has the potential to be a star," Isaiah Thomas said of his teammate. "I always tell him he reminds me of Kawhi Leonard when he first came into the league; big body, big hands, midrange game, he knows the game really well."

https://www.nba.com/rookie-ladder

Nunn is listed (currently) as the front runner. Why? He was in the G-league last year. That should disqualify him from being considered a rookie. Shouldn't it?

Yeah, he's 24, has had 4 years of college plus a year of G-League. I'm a little skeptical of counting him as a rookie.

I'm not too worried though. Again, due to his age and experience, it's less likely that he'll make a huge leap as the season progresses. Meanwhile, true rookies like Barrett, Hachimura, Washington and Morant will probably improve substantially as the season wears on.

[nate33]

Also, I'll go ahead and say it. If Rui get's his 3 point attempts up to 6 or 7 a game, the ROY is his to lose. Maybe Morant and Zion can compete but it'll be tough. If you have to worry about Rui knocking down 3's, he is simply too skilled offensively to be slowed down.

I don't think so. I think Rui will be a top 5ish rookie, but I'm not feeling rookie of the year. The big red flags for Rui are his low FTA's, poor 3pt shooting, and tunnel vision. It's going to be real hard for him to be all that efficient as a scorer with a FT rate so low. Ultimately, I think he's going to be viewed as a "solid player" in his rookie year, not really a star. Morant and Barrett will have the edge in ROY voting.

[WallToWall]

Also, I'll go ahead and say it. If Rui get's his 3 point attempts up to 6 or 7 a game, the ROY is his to lose. Maybe Morant and Zion can compete but it'll be tough. If you have to worry about Rui knocking down 3's, he is simply too skilled offensively to be slowed down.

I don't think so. I think Rui will be a top 5ish rookie, but I'm not feeling rookie of the year. The big red flags for Rui are his low FTA's, poor 3pt shooting, and tunnel vision. It's going to be real hard for him to be all that efficient as a scorer with a FT rate so low. Ultimately, I think he's going to be viewed as a "solid player" in his rookie year, not really a star. Morant and Barrett will have the edge in ROY voting.

This is where we get into the prediction business. I'm betting on Rui. Among all the other rookies, I think he has the most desire to improve and learn. He has the tools to learn. One of his teammates said that he puts to work in a game whatever new skill he learns in practice. Soon enough, they will teach him how to draw fouls. When that happens, he will get to the FT line, where he has yet to miss a FT. He will be taught how to make those fouls that count. Right now, he doesnt make enough fouls (never thought I'd say that), and thats a good thing. You dont have to teach him how not to foul, which is pretty hard, because the player has to "fix" something. Here, he has to learn when and how to foul. He is well on his way to fixing his 3pt shot. And, his tunnel vision....once he gets the 3pt shot going, the next thing he can be taught is when to pass. That will "fix" the tunnel vision. Once again, I am betting on Rui, because he has the maturity, desire, talent, methods, and tools necessary to learn and perfect a new skill. I cant say that about any of the other rookies.

[nuposse04]

One teams start doubling Rui its going to be really telling. His ability to win a fair amount of one-on-one stuff is good right now and he has decent efficiency. His passing will need to get better once teams adapt with a scouting report. Also, kinda interesting looking at his shooting splits. He is currently horrible at long 2s but absurdly good at 10-16 ft. I imagine the 10-16 footers will come down, but I kinda hope he just learns to abandon the long 2. Not sure when he will get any love from the refs since some of his drives are Oubre-esque at times, maybe he should start flailing like Harden.

Defensively he's been better than I thought. His man defense is fine, help defense isn't as bad as I thought it'd be... wouldn't call it good or average right now though. Gotta get those rebounding numbers up though. Especially on the defensive glass, abandon offensive rebounds and just get back on transition defense.

[Rafael122]

I remember a lot of people shat on the pick. I think a lot of it had to do with his age + where he is as a ball player, which wasn't a fair critique b/c he just started playing ball a few years ago. Zach Lowe seems to be coming around on him.

[payitforward]

This is where we get into how utterly ridiculous this discussion of Rui as RoY is...

...Among all the other rookies, I think he has the most desire to improve and learn.... he has the maturity, desire, talent, methods, and tools necessary to learn and perfect a new skill. I cant say that about any of the other rookies.

How can anyone imagine he knows whether Rui "has the most desire to improve and learn" of all rookies?

How can anyone imagine that Rui has more "maturity, desire, talent, methods, and tools" than any other rookie?

How can anyone imagine that what he can or "cant say... about any of the other rookies" is even the least little bit consequential?

What you can say about Rui Hachimura at this point is simple: so far so good -- he looks like he can be a very good NBA player.

That's it. & you know what? That's a lot! That's very very good!

[Ed Wood]

I'm pretty over the moon with how well Rui has played to this point as well but the Kawaii Leonard comp there seems wildly charitable - Kawaii is essentially good at everything that's highly coveted in the modern NBA while Rui so far has been very good at a much more focused set of far more fungible things (though with all kinds of time to expand his game and he's obviously talented).

He reminds me a lot of Antawn Jamison, actually. He's a good offensive player who has a pretty broad repertoire, particularly for his age, but other than that one of his greatest virtues is the fact that he doesn't generate statistical negatives because he's not trying to do the things that lead to them.