I'm very curious on who JJ sits for Bron. I think now it makes more sense to keep Smart in the lineup I also imagine one of Luka/AR sit in the Utah game at home. After a 5 game road trip seems adequate
Rui has been crazy consistent with his shooting this season so far. Contract year, or entering his prime..
It is a contract year and he is entering his prime. Keep this guy, just going to keep getting better.
even though we didn't draft him, he feels like a home-grown guy at this point. so yeah, it would be hard to have him move on. he and reaves are our two biggest developmental success stories in years. would be fun if they stayed with luka going forward--and were joined as success stories by laravia and thiero.
Agreed, I've been studying Thiero a little more lately. The guy is going to be a monster and just what we need going forward. The main thing the Lakers need right now from the Owners to the fans is patience. I keep telling myself, as good as we are, we haven't even seen LeBron yet.
How many Beasley type all world shooters have come to the Lakers and not been able to do it consistently over the “eons”? Tries hard on D plus CAN take on centers for periods. We’d like more rebounds but we sure as bleep should not toss his elite shooting and size out because of anything lacking in those last two areas.
Excellent point, not all can handle the Laker Lights, and Rui has shown he can. Ups his value tremendously.
James flipped him off during Media Day. A sign that he is in good standing. We point out our lack of shooting then we include him in trade packages? Doesn't make sense.
I disagree. Rui has been very impressive. His shot looks automatic right now. Could be a modern day Glen Rice. But you can't just be like oh he's playing good let's keep him now and when he's playing bad let's trade him. You need to be able to say, oh he's playing well, let's trade him. Most fans dont think that way, I know. When a player is struggling they are saying "trade that bum"! But, for what? Who's going to want a player like that you re going to get a bad return. I hope Rui does stay, and grow with the team. That jumper, and the spacing he is providing is a beautiful thing. But you have to keep your options open.
It's just that WITH his size and strength and athleticism, plus the things he does "pretty well" - "wish he was better at" PLUS his out of this world (Lakers consistent) shooting ..... to lose all that it better be one hell of a lot coming back, with the size included. We need size as well as anything else. And earlier all that was being ignored, just throwing Rui in trades here and there because he was a good asset. Like AR these past couple of years.
He needs to work on his finishing near the rim. He's missing a disturbing amount of bunnies, easy buckets that he should with his size convert easily.
Love Rui. Great shot, immaculate team vibes, pretty good D. But can he PLEASE learn how to go get a rebound!
Some interesting quotes from LG regarding Rui: LakerDYnasty72 "I've long watched Rui. I could never understand why he wasn't at least a good to very good rebounder. I found something that explains it...a bit. ""We talk all the time about, in isolation, particularly against guys who can knock down 3s like Klay Thompson, we want to use that stick hand," Redick told ESPN's Tim Legler on the "Coaches Corner." "Rui Hachimura is the best guy on our team at using that stick hand in isolation. So, he prevents the 3." https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ar-all-stars-reaves-lakers-lead-12-man-lineup I wasn't aware of this but apparently Rui's primary responsibility, at least in part, is to be that long arm/hand that contests 3s. At times that's going to keep him way out on the perimeter contesting shots, which in turn affects his ability to position himself for rebounds. Not justifying how low his rebounding numbers are at times, but at least it helps to understand his mindset is to contest shots more than rebounding at times." (somewhat similar to above re: defending 3s) vasashi17+ "Contract status: 2026 unrestricted free agent For a Lakers roster featuring Reaves, Doncic and James, Hachimura has been a constant this season. He is one of three Lakers (Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia the others) to play in all nine games and is the only Laker to start in every game. Hachimura is averaging career bests in minutes per game, points per game and field goal percentage (59%). Since he was acquired from the Washington Wizards in 2023, his 3-point percentage has increased from 33.7% to 48.7%. And thanks in part to Hachimura's defense -- most notably his knack for defending 3-point shooters -- the Lakers are allowing the second-lowest field goal percentage on shots outside 25 feet. "We talk all the time about, in isolation, particularly against guys who can knock down 3s like Klay Thompson, we want to use that stick hand," Redick told ESPN's Tim Legler on the "Coaches Corner." "Rui Hachimura is the best guy on our team at using that stick hand in isolation. So, he prevents the 3." Hachimura is eligible to sign a four-year, $114.5 million extension up until June 30. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ar-all-stars-reaves-lakers-lead-12-man-lineup " Lakersfan1211 Quote: Marcus Smart on Rui Hachimura's defense: "I'm proud of the Samurai. I'm proud of my guy. Rui's been doing such a good job on the offensive end, to see him pick it up on the defensive end has been a fresh breath of air for everybody. We knew he could do it and he knows he could do it. And we're glad to see him accepting that and using his ability to be able to play both ends, offensively and defensively."
The thing I’ve really enjoyed about Rui the last 2 years is his ability to hit shots out of rhythm and with low usage. He can go 12 mins without a shot then score 9 points in 5 mins. That’s of huge value around Luka, LeBron and Reaves.
He just needs to dunk the ball with authority like he’s done in the past. He seems to be wanting to finesse it around the basket this season.
