It's been five games since Rui Hachimura joined forces with the Lakers, and he has already made his presence felt.
Hachimura has started the last three games, averaging 14.0 points and 7.3 rebounds during that stretch. His shooting percentages have also been excellent — he's hit 50.0 percent of his field goals and 42.9 percent of his 3-pointers.
Here's how Hachimura has found a rhythm in Los Angeles so quickly.
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Rui Hachimura has been instant offense for the Lakers
Hachimura's scoring talent has translated flawlessly to the Lakers.
He's been able to score in a number of different ways. The Lakers have utilized his size in post-ups. He's also developed nice chemistry with LeBron James in Pistol sets in which Hachimura sets a screen for James as he's coming down the sideline.
And those two have already connected often in transition.
Hachimura has gotten 19 of his 60 points for the Lakers simply by running the floor hard. His 1.27 points per possession on transition attacks for the Lakers place him in the 76th percentile of the league.
Rui Hachimura's defense has been better than expected
Hachimura has contained some of the most talented offensive players in the league in one-on-one situations. He held All-Star forward Julius Randle to 3-of-10 shooting as the primary defender in the Lakers' win over the Knicks on Tuesday, according to the NBA's tracking data.
Thread: Rui Hachimura Crunch Time Defense
— LAbound (@LAbound2) February 1, 2023
5 min left in 4th
Lakers by 5
On an island vs an All Star level PG in Jalen Brunson
Beats him to the spot, maintains balance after the push-off + perfect contest to alter the floater
Agility + size/length on full display pic.twitter.com/oADTzHNy4L
Hachimura hasn't been quite as good away from the ball. He has made some big impact plays, such as his block on Jalen Brunson in that same game. But he still has a tendency to lose focus or be late on rotations.
Despite those occasional lapses, Hachimura's defensive impact overall has been excellent. The Lakers have defended 8.6 points per 100 possessions better when he's on the floor, per Basketball-Reference, at a rate better than the league-leading Cavs.
He has also logged a lot of minutes alongside Anthony Davis, which may be contributing to that strong defense.
Rui Hachimura's positive impact has earned praise from LeBron James and others
All of Hachimura's contributions add up to a very positive impact on the team. The Lakers are playing 8.5 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor compared to when he sits, per Cleaning the Glass. Only James has had a bigger point differential thus far this season.
Hachimura has given the Lakers exactly the size and scoring punch that their roster was sorely lacking. As recorded by Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register, James expressed his approval, noting that it "feels good to have another 6-8 wing."
James went further in his praise of Hachimura after the Lakers defeated the Knicks.
"He was aggressive from the beginning of the game to the end," James said. "We don't want Rui to fit in. We want him to fit out. We don't want him to come in and just be on some cool because that's what he is. He is cool. He's super cool, very low key, low maintenance.
"But, his ability and what he can bring to our team, we need him to showcase that every night for us. And like [Davis] said, be aggressive from the very beginning, and he was that all the way until the very end, finishing off his performance with that block. So, it's a great piece to have, and we're lucky to have him."
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle also spoke highly of Hachimura's fit with the Lakers before those teams faced off on Thursday.
"It's pretty clear he's a starting-caliber player in this league," Carlisle said. "He does things that really mesh with their high-level players."
Hachimura has looked more comfortable in his new location, and the statistics and praise from those around him back that idea up.
