Rui Hachimura

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I would use players that are big for their position. Rui would be a small forward on my team — Until it’s time to go small and then he would be played at power forward.

I would have every player as big as possible unless I had a really tiny guy who is quicker than quick. Play Matchup nightmares.

[payitforward]

I think the big advantage of Rui is that he can give you the skill of a SF, but in a PF's body. For now, he hasn't shown a PF's rebounding skill, but if he maintains the 9 rebounds per game he has posted recently, he'll have done that too.

Generally speaking, tweener players are better off playing up to the bigger position....

Hey! I thought these positions were no longer distinguishable!

It's great to see Rui playing well. His usage is still slightly down from last year, which would be the inevitable result of playing with Russ! But, he's pushed his TS% up a little again. & that is despite a drop off in getting to the line from earlier in the season (still more than last year).

His defensive rebounding is actually slightly up from last year. But his offensive rebounding is significantly down.

Note that except for the significant drop in offensive boards, these variations are small & that on the numbers overall this season Rui is barely different from his rookie year. Inasmuch as he's played well the last few games, it'll be very important for him to continue this trend for the rest of the season.

[prime1time]

Read on Twitter

5 games is such a small sample size, but good play is good play. Today's matchup vs. Randle will be interesting. The thing to key on will be if Randle goes directly at Hachimura, or if he tries to get a switch and go after a weaker defender, i.e. Matthews or our Center. It's been a while since a team had the strategy of going directly at Hachimura.

[Ruzious]

I think the big advantage of Rui is that he can give you the skill of a SF, but in a PF's body. For now, he hasn't shown a PF's rebounding skill, but if he maintains the 9 rebounds per game he has posted recently, he'll have done that too.

Generally speaking, tweener players are better off playing up to the bigger position....

Hey! I thought these positions were no longer distinguishable!

It's great to see Rui playing well. His usage is still slightly down from last year, which would be the inevitable result of playing with Russ! But, he's pushed his TS% up a little again. & that is despite a drop off in getting to the line from earlier in the season (still more than last year).

His defensive rebounding is actually slightly up from last year. But his offensive rebounding is significantly down.

Note that except for the significant drop in offensive boards, these variations are small & that on the numbers overall this season Rui is barely different from his rookie year. Inasmuch as he's played well the last few games, it'll be very important for him to continue this trend for the rest of the season.

They've found a niche for him defensively as a perimeter defender - which I never would have guessed would happen in his rookie year. He's made a big step forward defensively from his rookie year, and he's shown the makings of a 3 point shot. So, I think he has made solid progress this season. As the old saying I just made up goes, "the chicken sandwich comes after the chicken", so we should be seeing the improvements in the stats coming as the season progresses.

[WallToWall]

If he turns into a 20ppg and 10 rpg player with average defense at his top, I'd say he is great value for where he was picked.
One thing to keep in mind... he has the benefit of playing with BB and Westbrook, and is not being asked to be more than a 3rd scorer on the team. I'd like to see if he rises to the challenge of being the #2 option on the team. By next season, I'd like to see him play with an edge and more aggressiveness... maybe Westbrook can teach him that. He's done well so far, and we have to like the trajectory he is on.

[NatP4]

Yeah if he almost doubles his rebounding production and becomes an average defender, that would certainly change evaluations of the pick.

[nate33]

I just hope he continues to average 8-9 boards a game for the rest of the season. I get real annoyed with those 3 and 4 rebound outings.

[smoothSeph]

I just hope he continues to average 8-9 boards a game for the rest of the season. I get real annoyed with those 3 and 4 rebound outings.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that when his shots started going up so did his rebounding. Seems like Rui’s aggression problem was translating to both sides of the ball. Now it looks like he understands he needs to be more active everywhere.

Let’s hope that was the actual problem and he keeps it up. He’s looked really good these past few games.

[Ruzious]

Rui - get 2 put-backs a game, and we'll stop hounding you. When Russ or Beal drive to the hoop on the right, get ready for the rebound on the left. A couple of chippies a game like that are an easy way to make you look better. If Russ yells at you to get back on transition D, tell him that's the guards' job.

[WallToWall]

This game vs the Knicks, Rui was asked to carry the load a little bit against a strong-ish defense. This was the first time I saw him chuck up shots, trying to get a foul called, and not care about being yanked. He went 5/13 and at least 4 of those missed shots were him trying to draw contact (foul not called). All part of growing and learning how to play within oneself...it was good to see. Eventually, he will do just enough to get a foul called.

[Topofthekey]

Any interest something like Wiseman + Wolves FRP + Malcolm Brogdon for Beal + Hachimura?

[payitforward]

If he turns into a 20ppg and 10 rpg player with average defense at his top, I'd say he is great value for where he was picked....

Yeah if he almost doubles his rebounding production and becomes an average defender, that would certainly change evaluations of the pick.

Not to mention scores 20 ppg -- apparently at any level of efficiency whatsoever.

Still... it's nice to see good games from Rui. The rest of this season is really important for him. Overall numbers need to go up.

[nate33]

Any interest something like Wiseman + Wolves FRP + Malcolm Brogdon for Beal + Hachimura?

If we are trading Beal, it makes no sense to trade Hachimura.

[DCZards]

If he turns into a 20ppg and 10 rpg player with average defense at his top, I'd say he is great value for where he was picked....

Yeah if he almost doubles his rebounding production and becomes an average defender, that would certainly change evaluations of the pick.

Not to mention scores 20 ppg -- apparently at any level of efficiency whatsoever.

Still... it's nice to see good games from Rui. The rest of this season is really important for him. Overall numbers need to go up.

The numbers are important...but so is HOW Rui plays. For example, as WalltoWall points out, Rui missed shots against the Knicks while trying to draw a foul. I like that...because he's a good free throw shooter and eventually he'll start getting some of those calls.

Personally, right now I'm more concerned about how Rui plays (his aggressiveness and confidence on both ends of the floor) than his numbers.

[payitforward]

Sure! But, you know how it is Zards -- it takes 2 to tango while 3's a crowd; 4 more years & give me 5. 7 come 11 we have to play all 9 -- & 1 way or another, numbers are part of everything! That's so true it's a 10 out of 10.

There are no good players who put up bad numbers. Zero. Which is a number, if a strange one.

Rui Hachimura is a 23 year old NBA player who's logged 2530 NBA minutes. All numbers. Rui needs to put up good numbers. He won't be a good player unless & until he does.

[prime1time]

So tired of this good player debate. It's silly. Hachimura has a long way to go to maximize his potential. The notion that because he passes this some arbitary cutoff and everything will be good is completely nonsensical. The Wizards are trying to win a championship. I couldn't care less if Rui becomes a "good player." He needs to work on his game and continue to imrpove. He's made a jump in the last 8 games and I want to see another jump next year. His 3-point shooting needs to continue to improve. He needs to become a better rim protector. He needs to rebound better. He needs to play a step quicker. He needs to become a better facilitator. And for the posters that still don't understand, Rui was always a good pick. You're inability to conceive of how a player can improve over time caused you not to see it. The tools were always there.

[WallToWall]

The last 7 games (from 3/13 - 3/25), Rui has shot 48/101 (average 47.5%), grabbed 60 rebounds (8.6 rpg), and averaged 18.9 ppg.
He does not shoot enough 3's, averaging 4 shot a game, even though he has good accuracy at 43.3%. He does not go to the charity stipe enough. There were 2 games in the last 7 where he didnt go at all. His trajectory in the last 7 games is good. Clearly, there are places in his game where he can improve on the offensive side. He could take more 3's, and he could try to get to the line more often. Doing either of those could make him a 20 ppg player. A definite growth opportunity for him.
Regarding his rebounding, although he has made improvements, he needs to be more aggressive. He also needs to find a way to stop Westbrook from jumping in front of him and stealing the rebound. Westbrook has made a habit of this, doing so 2 or 3 times a game.
Over the last 7 games, his turnovers are low at 1.4 a game, and has managed to stay out of foul trouble averaging 2.3 fouls per game. This comes with increased usage, averaging 38 mins a game during the 7 games.

Some other notes... in the 3/25 game vs Knicks, on more than 3 occasions, I saw him have a clear path from the 3 point line to drive the ball to the hole (or heck, take the 3 pointer shot), but he instead dribbled the ball, in order to get closer to Beal or Westbrook who were standing at the top of the 3 point arc, just so that he could almost hand or short pass the ball to them. What's up with that?? Rui (or maybe its the coach?) needs to have confidence to initiate the offense.

[nate33]

I'm starting to get cautiously optimistic that Rui may have turned the corner and become a consistent, reliable starter. In his last 7 games, Rui has posted:

29 points, 11 rebounds
22 points, 7 rebounds
17 points, 9 rebounds
12 points, 7 rebounds
20 points, 10 rebounds
11 points, 7 rebounds
21 points, 9 rebounds

And he did it with a TS of .616, just 1.6 turnovers and 2.3 fouls. And as WalltoWall points out, Westbrook steals a couple of rebounds from him every game. Also, he is arguably the best defender on the roster. He is unquestionably the best one-on-one defender.

During those last 7 games, the team has been outscored by 37 points, but they have been breakeven with Rui on the floor. So basically, they've matched toe-to-toe with the opposition during the 267 minutes that he was on the court, and they got blasted by 37 points during the 69 minutes that he sat.

Last night against the Knicks, Rui was 0-3 with just 1 rebound after 9 minutes of play in the 1st quarter. But Rui is extremely even-keeled and just kept plugging away. Over the rest of the night, he went 9-13 including 2-4 from 3 and finished with 21 and 9.

He still has plenty of room for improvement as an individual offensive player, but he is finally doing the basics right. He is defending with consistency, making fewer mistakes. He is rebounding. He is taking the open 3's when they are available. And he is running the floor. He may be hot or cold on his midrange in the half court set, and he definitely needs to figure out how to draw fouls, but as long as he gets the basics right, he will always help the team.

Keep it up Rui!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Read on Twitter

5 games is such a small sample size, but good play is good play. Today's matchup vs. Randle will be interesting. The thing to key on will be if Randle goes directly at Hachimura, or if he tries to get a switch and go after a weaker defender, i.e. Matthews or our Center. It's been a while since a team had the strategy of going directly at Hachimura.

The wizards drafted right with this guy

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm starting to get cautiously optimistic that Rui may have turned the corner and become a consistent, reliable starter. In his last 7 games, Rui has posted:

29 points, 11 rebounds
22 points, 7 rebounds
17 points, 9 rebounds
12 points, 7 rebounds
20 points, 10 rebounds
11 points, 7 rebounds
21 points, 9 rebounds

And he did it with a TS of .616, just 1.6 turnovers and 2.3 fouls. And as WalltoWall points out, Westbrook steals a couple of rebounds from him every game. Also, he is arguably the best defender on the roster. He is unquestionably the best one-on-one defender.

During those last 7 games, the team has been outscored by 37 points, but they have been breakeven with Rui on the floor. So basically, they've matched toe-to-toe with the opposition during the 267 minutes that he was on the court, and they got blasted by 37 points during the 69 minutes that he sat.

Last night against the Knicks, Rui was 0-3 with just 1 rebound after 9 minutes of play in the 1st quarter. But Rui is extremely even-keeled and just kept plugging away. Over the rest of the night, he went 9-13 including 2-4 from 3 and finished with 21 and 9.

He still has plenty of room for improvement as an individual offensive player, but he is finally doing the basics right. He is defending with consistency, making fewer mistakes. He is rebounding. He is taking the open 3's when they are available. And he is running the floor. He may be hot or cold on his midrange in the half court set, and he definitely needs to figure out how to draw fouls, but as long as he gets the basics right, he will always help the team.

Keep it up Rui!

I would throw caution to the wind.

Credit Russell Westbrook for getting in his ear. It’s almost like a father-son thing when Russ speaks positively or challenges him to be better.