Rui Hachimura was one of the most important players for the Lakers last season.
The Lakers made the Western Conference Finals two years ago with the Japanese forward in the starting lineup. They then played their best basketball at the end of 2023-24 when he re-entered that role, finishing the season with a 22-10 record after former head coach Darvin Ham made that change.
Los Angeles won't have the same issue this season — head coach JJ Redick has already announced that Hachimura will start from Day One. That's part of Redick's strategy of "creating clarity for players," as he explained to reporters.
A more well-defined role should help both the Lakers and Hachimura have a better year. Here's how Redick plans to make that happen.
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Why Rui Hachimura is primed for a breakout season under JJ Redick
Hachimura showed by averaging 22.0 points per game in the Olympics that he can be a primary scoring option, but with LeBron James and Anthony Davis ahead of him in the pecking order, that's not the way that Redick envisions using him on the Lakers.
"That [Olympic role] is a different role than he can have on our team. That's just the reality," Redick explained. Instead, Redick plans to "look for opportunities for him to use his skills, particularly as an iso and post-up player."
The numbers back up Redick's strategy. Hachimura was one of the better post-up players in the league last year and the best on the Lakers. His 1.15 points per possession ranked in the 83rd percentile of all players, per NBA Stats.
Post-ups are great opportunities to leverage Hachimura's athleticism, speed, strength and underrated footwork.
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Hachimura wasn't quite as effective as an isolation player, ranking in the 34th percentile of players. But Redick sees the vision there for how to turn those into better possessions.
Hachimura was very good in isolation when he would get the ball, face up and drive. He's simply too fast and strong for players to keep up with, and he's been a terrific finisher at the rim when he gets near there.
What has made Hachimura an inefficient isolation player is his propensity to take so many pull-up midrange jumpers. It's one of his favorite shots, but he shot only 42 percent on the 100 attempts he took last season. Redick is looking to limit those looks.
"We have to be cognizant of what his shot profile looks like, in terms of midrange shots and the volume and percentage of shots he's taking from the midrange," Redick explained. "What we've talked about with him and what we will continue to emphasize with him will have a high impact level on winning."
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Hachimura shot an identical 42 percent from 3 as he did on those pull-up 2s. Given that the 3 is worth an extra point, it makes sense to try and sub those 2s out for more 3s. That is another one of Redick's stated goals, to get his team up from their No. 28 ranking in 3-point attempts last year.
Hachimura seems to be on board with those changes. He's been effusive in his praise for Redick, noting on Thursday that Redick "was just in the league, so he knows exactly what's happening in this league right now. He can coach us from the players' standpoint."
That synergy with Redick sounds better than what Hachimura had with Ham. "It was really up and down since I got here," Hachimura admitted. His minutes and role shifted dramatically throughout last season. Ham never really seemed to figure out how to best use him. With Redick, things look different.
"It's easy to understand," Hachimura said of Redick. "Whatever he says just makes sense."
With a clearer role, more opportunities to lean into his strength as a post player and a reduction of his midrange shots, Hachimura and Redick have come up with a good plan to have a big year.
