(Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers made a handful of impactful transactions this season.
It all started when they traded for Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura, who became a steady contributor off the bench right away.
Hachimura embraced his role with the Lakers and was a better defender than most expected, also having some impressive games along the way.
Nonetheless, it seems like he was saving his best for the postseason.
He torched the Memphis Grizzlies for 29 points on 11/14 from the floor, adding six rebounds, one assist, and five three-pointers in 29 minutes off the bench.
The Lakers took the game by 16 points, with Hachimura scoring nearly 20 more than his season average of 9.6.
That’s why Grizzlies star Desmond Bane wasn’t that impressed by his game, stating that he might not be able to do the same going forward.
Desmond Bane on Rui Hachimura: “It’s probably the best game of his career. It’s a seven-game series. Let’s see if he can do it again Wednesday.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 16, 2023
That’s actually fair.
Basketball is a game of averages, so he might as well regress to the mean in the next couple of games.
Some guys are tailor-made for the postseason, and they simply rise to the occasion when the season is at stake.
Hachimura was a top-10 pick just four years ago, and while he’s unlikely to ever live up to those expectations, there’s a reason why scouts were so high on him coming out of Gonzaga.
Also, even if he fails to top the 20-point mark in every game, the Lakers are a very deep team with multiple guys who can score in double digits any given night, so Bane should actually be worried.
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