The Los Angeles Lakers are set to kick off their postseason run as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first Play-In Tournament game on Tuesday night. In order to get through this contest, and make a postseason run as a whole, the Lakers will not only need LeBron James and Anthony Davis to be excellent, but for the supporting cast such as Austin Reaves, Malik Beasley and Rui Hachimura to step and contribute on a consistent level as well.
Recently, Hachimura has stepped up on both ends of the floor. His ability on offense, especially in one-on-one situations is excellent and there have been times when the Lakers can just throw him the ball and let him go to work. But he has also shown improvements defensively as well and his work ethic and competitiveness have stood out to his teammates, and LeBron in particular.
“He’s a supercompetitor,” James said when asked what he likes about playing with Hachimura. “He wants to be great, and he wants to be held accountable. He’s always asking me what he can be doing better to help this team and how he can be better to help this team because he wants to not only when he’s on the floor but he wants to be on the floor.
“I feel like we complement each other very well along with AR. … Obviously, we know myself and AD are able to do, but the more minutes he knows he’s going to play, when he gets that routine up of consistency, he shows what he’s capable of doing.”
That consistency is something that has been mentioned with Hachimura in the past. The forward has seen his role with the Lakers move around since he’s been here thanks to the trades made by the team. While some players are able to step on the court and get going, Hachimura is more of a rhythm player and knowing he will get consistent minutes allows him to build that up and ultimately be more effective.
Hachimura scored in double-figures in four of the Lakers’ last five contests and that is the level of consistency the team needs from him in the playoffs. The talent and desire is there, and now is the time for all of that to come together to support LeBron and Davis in hopefully making a deep postseason run.
Kyle Kuzma believes Lakers can make a run to the NBA Finals
The belief that the Lakers can make a championship run extends beyond the locker room to some who used to be in the locker room as well. Kyle Kuzma, member of the Lakers’ 2020 NBA Championship, believes the franchise has the ability to make another run this season.
Kuzma took to Twitter, saying that he believes the Lakers can make the NBA Finals this year. There could be a little bias for his former team, but considering the level that the Lakers have played at over the last couple of months, and the wide-open nature of the Western Conference, anything is possible.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
