Rui Hachimura

[payitforward]

Dude... you are looking at the wrong Thai Bull. We are talking Leonardo dunkVinci here!

[nate33]

What are you guys talking about?

I see a Finnish Bull, a Czech Bull, a Brazilian Bull and a French Bull, but I see no Thai Bull on their roster:

[payitforward]

You know how it is, nate, once the bull starts flowing, eventually someone looks up the word "badinage," right Badinage?

[DCZards]

I would say Matisse Thybulle has a marginally better name than Rui Hachimura. But even that’s debatable. But no way is he a better player. No way has he played better this season. And no way was he a “better pick” relative to his draft position.

I dunno. Seems to me that Rui has the much better name. I just love shouting "Ruuuiii!" when Hachimura throws down a nasty dunk or hits a 3 ball.

[payitforward]

I'm sure you're going to be shouting it many times, Zards!

[Jay81]

rui is awful. Just a wasted pick

[TheBabyMaker]

rui is awful. Just a wasted pick

No he is believing the hype, which is uncalled for. He needs to stay off the media and focus more on Bball.

[Hibachi_0]

It's exciting to see how Rui has improved on defense since he came back from the injury. Showing much better instincts and hustle. And even with his problems to protect the rim and rebounding, the potential he is showing to defend centers and guards on switches is also a thrilling skill.

His offense needs a lot of work, but the basis are there. i'm more concerned about his ability to finish against taller defenders and through contact than with shooting. The midrange, the FTs and the mechanics are there, I think it's a matter of time for him to develope the 3.

[Ruzious]

It's exciting to see how Rui has improved on defense since he came back from the injury. Showing much better instincts and hustle. And even with his problems to protect the rim and rebounding, the potential he is showing to defend centers and guards on switches is also a thrilling skill.

His offense needs a lot of work, but the basis are there. i'm more concerned about his ability to finish against taller defenders and through contact than with shooting. The midrange, the FTs and the mechanics are there, I think it's a matter of time for him to develope the 3.

That's Rui Hibachimura. Ruff game offensively against Miami, but rookies are going to have some dogs, and he did throw us a bone with his improved D.

[ruffian253]

Being a big Rui fan, not really sure whats happened lately. Been watching theblast few games and it seems like agression is gone. Maybe its a by product of the offensive sets, or lack of, with Beal and Napier dribbling the air out of the ball for the whole possession. You can also expect come Q4, nobody is shooting other then Beal or a last ninute kick out from Beal.

Its great that Rui is improving on the defense, but his strength is his offense and if he is only getting random 5-10 shots a game while not in the flow of offense or in his scoring positions, then this will be a wasted pick. I remember last game when Gooden was comparing the Heat ball movement and everybody touching the ball and harder to defend, then you have Beal or Napier going 1v5 on the other end.

[Ruzious]

Being a big Rui fan, not really sure whats happened lately. Been watching theblast few games and it seems like agression is gone. Maybe its a by product of the offensive sets, or lack of, with Beal and Napier dribbling the air out of the ball for the whole possession. You can also expect come Q4, nobody is shooting other then Beal or a last ninute kick out from Beal.

Its great that Rui is improving on the defense, but his strength is his offense and if he is only getting random 5-10 shots a game while not in the flow of offense or in his scoring positions, then this will be a wasted pick. I remember last game when Gooden was comparing the Heat ball movement and everybody touching the ball and harder to defend, then you have Beal or Napier going 1v5 on the other end.

Well, he's gone a combined 0 for 14 the last 2 games. The 0 is what sticks out to me. I'm not going to blame Beal and/or Napier for that. I'll blame it on him being a rookie.

[nate33]

Rui is fine. He had 2 consecutive poor shooting nights. So what?

Overall, I'm happy with his development this season. I'm really encouraged with his defensive development and that his 3-ball has come around. Once he figures out how to protect the ball and jump into defenders when in traffic, he'll be fine.

I've seen enough to convince me that he will develop into an above-average starter, if not better. I think he'll pan out to have an impact not unlike Otto Porter.

[payitforward]

Let's look at Rui over longer stretches than a game or two, please. 17 rookies have played over 1000 minutes this year. Rui has been about the 5th best among them. That's not bad.

There are guys picked above Rui who have been awful, truly disappointing -- Barrett, Hunter, Culver, Garland & White. & even those guys should develop; some of them may even turn into good players.

Rui hasn't been disappointing. He just hasn't been really good.

Thing is... what would have made anyone imagine that he'd come into the league & be really good? He wasn't outstanding in college.

Leaving aside what kind of player Rui has been so far, there's also the question, a completely different question, "was Rui a terrific pick?" I.e. was nabbing him the optimum way to use the #9 pick to get maximum value in the 2019 draft? No, he wasn't; & it wasn't.

But, that's not Rui's fault! He didn't pick himself.

For that matter, we could have done worse. We could have picked Cam Reddish. & even he may develop.

[payitforward]

Rui is fine. He had 2 consecutive poor shooting nights. So what?

Overall, I'm happy with his development this season. I'm really encouraged with his defensive development and that his 3-ball has come around. Once he figures out how to protect the ball and jump into defenders when in traffic, he'll be fine.

I agree. But I'd say the key thing is that he has developed. That's what you look for. If he develops right away, why would anyone imagine that he won't continue to develop? The opposite; it's a strong indicator that he will.

So he's given a positive answer to the first question you ask of a rookie.

As to...

...I've seen enough to convince me that he will develop into an above-average starter, if not better. I think he'll pan out to have an impact not unlike Otto Porter.

Certainly it's possible -- why not? But, I can't see how to predict it off of what he's done so far. If he takes a nice jump next year, maybe then.

& that's not meant as criticism of Rui -- not in the slightest.

edit: it's easy to forget just how good Otto was in 2016-17 & 2017-18.

[Shoe]

There's a thing called the rookie wall folks. Post all-star break it's a grind to finish out the season.

[nate33]

There's a thing called the rookie wall folks. Post all-star break it's a grind to finish out the season.

I don't think that's the case here. Rui had a 23-game rest in the middle of the season. I don't think he's running on fumes.

I think he just missed a bunch of consecutive shots. Other than the ball not actually going in the basket, he looks good to me.

[Shoe]

There's a thing called the rookie wall folks. Post all-star break it's a grind to finish out the season.

I don't think that's the case here. Rui had a 23-game rest in the middle of the season. I don't think he's running on fumes.

I think he just missed a bunch of consecutive shots. Other than the ball not actually going in the basket, he looks good to me.

He was rehabing during that time, flying on jets, sleeping in hotels. The rookie wall is more mental than physical I believe. Its got to be a system shock to go from college with long breaks in between games to never ending travel, photo shoots, etc. I can only speculate but I wouldn't over react to a rookies performance at this time of the year.

[doclinkin]

Plus he suffered from the medical condition of getting kicked in the Bongas.

[Hibachi_0]

That's Rui Hibachimura. Ruff game offensively against Miami, but rookies are going to have some dogs, and he did throw us a bone with his improved D.

Even taking into account he is a rookie, my biggest concern for the first half of the season was his defense. He didn't show flashes of improvement or potential there, and I don't think a 4 not being a correct defender is playable in a wining team.

I don't mind if the shots aren't falling right now, he's proven that he can turn into a good ofensive player. Maybe not a stud, that's why I was so concerned about him being terrible on defense.

[Shoe]

Buckner WaPo

“Schedule-wise it’s been hard, especially this month,” Hachimura said after the Wizards’ loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, in which he went scoreless in 40 minutes of play. “We started with the West Coast trip and we played four games in [six] days, and then we come back and play right away. It’s been tough, but it is what it is.”

“I think I’m thinking too much right now, you know? I just got to play,” Hachimura said. “Everybody says: ‘Do this! Do this! Do this!’ I got to — I mean — I got to play [like] myself, like how I’ve been playing.”.

“I think you get a lot of information, and it’s going to come with experience: Filter what’s good for you and what’s not,” Bertans said. “That’s part of learning the game.”

“I think he gets down on himself. Like every player, if you don’t make a shot, you don’t feel good. If you don’t make six shots in one game, it’s not a good feeling,” Brooks said. “His shots are going to fall. He’ll bust out, and then we’ll look at this as part of his growth, as part of his learning experience to get better. And he will. But for his sake, it’s hard.”

“They want to give advice and stuff. That’s a good thing, but sometimes I take it too much. I just got to focus on what I have to do,” Hachimura said. “People have been telling me a lot of things, and I’m just like, ‘It’s too much right now.’”