When Rui Hachimura was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022, he was viewed as a promising two-way forward who needed refinement.
In his time with the Washington Wizards, the team that drafted him ninth overall in 2019, he was a 3-level scorer but at his best on his way to the rim. As an athletic 6-foot-8 forward who was a strong finisher, it made plenty of sense to play him as a driver, slasher and transition threat. Because of his draft position, youth and the Wizards status as a non-playoff team, he had room to explore other parts of his game. In L.A., he would hopefully be able to take a leap by learning from LeBron James, a rugged but well-rounded scorer.
Lakers Are Leaving LeBron James Mentee Rui Hachimura Out In The Cold
In their first offseason as teammates, James took Hachimura under his wing (h/t Dan Woike, formerly of the Los Angeles Times).
Rui Hachimura talks about working out with LeBron James during the off season and being taken under his wing as an “under study”#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/ajCy5IYhjU
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) October 2, 2023
They worked on his aggressiveness in attacking the rim. They literally worked out together, Hachimura walking to bulk up. Hachimura and Phil Handy, one of James’s longtime trainers, also worked on his footwork.
By the time the 2023-24 season ended, nobody had to tell you Hachimura was James’s mentee because it was obvious. Off the court, they had a genuine camaraderie. On the court, Hachimura was using James’s tricks, from his footwork in the post to his spin moves on the attack. He came to the Lakers with nice touch in the midrange but was able to improve it. Like James, he had also become a much more dependable 3-point threat, shooting 39.3% from long distance.
As time has gone on though, Hachimura’s natural skillset has been overshadowed by the prominence of 3-and-D roles. While the 3-and-D archetype has always been praised, it wasn’t necessarily commonplace until midway through the last decade. With the proliferation of the 3-ball, it’s now customary to see players sitting behind the 3-point arc, waiting to launch a long-range missile.
Some, like Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers will talk about how much better it is that offenses are moving away from isolation scorers. In doing so, they believe they’re upholding the sanctity of the Xs and Os. Yet, they’re actually ignoring the unnaturalness of forcing every player to be a catch-and-shoot artist. Just as bad is the redundancy of offensive philosophies. No matter how intricate a scheme is, if the goal is just to shoot a 3 every other possession, its concept is basic.
Does It Actually Make Sense?
Unfortunately for the Lakers, even the oft praised JJ Redick has fallen into the trap of being overly simplistic. In L.A.’s season opener against the Golden State Warriors, he played a nine-man rotation. Of the seven players in the rotation that weren’t centers, five of them took at least 50% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
That’s not natural. That’s not basketball.
Hachimura was one of the victims of this, with all six of his attempts coming from beyond the arc. You would have been forgiven if you thought the back of his jersey said Hardaway (Jr.). As he went 3-6 in his attempts, there are many who could look at that as a positive development. Yet, it makes little sense for a player who has worked diligently to become a sharp 3-level scorer to be turned into a 3-point specialist. To make it worse, James is out until mid-November due to a nerve injury.
The Proof Is In The Pudding
Obviously, Hachimura isn’t going to replace a Hall of Fame player by himself. However, his skillset as a scorer has significant overlap with James’s. Not only does this mean he could thrive without James, but that he could do well in similar actions. Instead, Hachimura was asked to play a role that would have been better suited for Dalton Knecht, who was held out of the rotation. And, though he’s often asked to crash the boards from the corner, it’s still a role that’s far too passive.
Keep in mind, in the games that Hachimura played without James in 2023-24, he averaged 17.7 points per game. Last season, he averaged 19.3 points per contest when James didn’t suit up (h/t StatMuse). On Monday, he scored nine points in 35 minutes.
It’s Not Just Rui
There’s no reason for all of Gabe Vincent‘s attempts to have been 3s, especially as a career 33.7% 3-point shooter. By the way, he went 1-4 from 3 in the season opener. To be clear, Vincent is definitely a limited offensive player. Even so, he shoots 46.1% from 10-16 feet away from the rim for his career. He’s made 64.1% of his attempts within three feet of the rim since 2023-24. So, not even attempting to get him a shot inside the 3-point circle was ridiculous.
In a similar vein, it’s strange for half of Marcus Smart‘s field goal attempts came from 3-point range. In fact, Smart is a career 32.4% 3-point shooter, even worse than Vincent. Oh, and by the way, he went 0-3 from 3 against the Warriors. It’s difficult to tell where Smart is athletically as he’s constantly on the mend and on the wrong side of 30. However, he’s long been at his best when he’s actually attacking the rim. According to the numbers, from 2019-20 to 2023-24, he shot 64.0% from inside three feet. He also made 46.9% of his attempts from 10-16 feet away from the rim.
To be fair to Redick, he isn’t the first or last head coach to play Vincent or Smart in this manner. That doesn’t change the fact it’s counterintuitive and, frankly, lazy coaching. Just because players have scoring limitations, it doesn’t mean the only place they can do damage is from 3. Just because the game is now emphasizing the 3-ball, it doesn’t mean it’s the only area of the floor to try to dominate. It certainly doesn’t mean you put players who typically struggle from beyond the arc in that area of the floor.
The Last Word
The parasitical 3-ball philosophy doesn’t only affect non-All-Stars, it even seeps into players like Luka Doncic‘s brain. Throughout his career, he’s been known for his penchant for step back 3s, but he’s still shooting 35.0% from 3 for his career. Ironically, he’s no Redick from 3-point land. With that in mind, if Doncic’s brain was rewired, he might not have attempted 10 3-pointers unless he was feeling the stroke. Instead, Doncic went 2-10 from 3.
In what turned out to be a 10-point loss, if Redick had attempted to get Hachimura, Vincent, Smart and/or Doncic more 2-point attempts, they might have actually won. That goes against the grain of what people consider winning basketball. Yet, refusing to put players where they’re best is clearly not getting the job done.
© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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