<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-trade-stance-rui-hachimura-among-vets-opens-eyes');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers’ trade stance on Rui Hachimura among vets opens eyes');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NBA-rumors-Lakers-trade-stance-on-Rui-Hachimura-among-vets-opens-eyes.jpg"><figcaption>LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Lakers, </figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers’ trade stance on Rui Hachimura among vets opens eyes</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-18T12:57:39-08:00">December 18th, 12:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-18T18:01:42-08:00">December 18th, 6:01pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Sunday evening, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-anthony-davis-jj-redick-reveal-lebron-james-fuel-win-grizzlies">Los Angeles Lakers picked up an impressive home win</a> over the Memphis Grizzlies in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-how-jj-redick-will-manage-lebron-james-minutes-moving-forward">LeBron James’ return</a> to the lineup following two games away from the team. Still, despite having arguably their most complete performance of the season against a solid Memphis team, that hasn’t stopped trade rumors from swirling around the Lakers as of late.</p><p>The first quarter or so of this season has made it clear that the Lakers are still lacking in several key areas, including most notably perimeter two-way versatility, and recently, Jovan Buha of The Athletic broke down one name that he thinks <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2024/12/17/24323484/lakers-trade-rumors-rui-hachimura-jj-redick-cam-johnson-nets" rel="noopener">will be safe</a> from inevitable trade discussions.</p><p>“I think Rui [Hachimura] is viewed as a longer-term piece. I don’t think that means they would not trade him, but I think when you look at, there are four midsize salaries that the Lakers can trade between now and January 15,” said Buha on his YouTube channel, per Edwin Garcia of Silver Screen and Roll. “On January 15, Max Christie becomes available, so then it becomes five, but between now and January 15, the Lakers have four midsize salaries to trade. That’s Rui, D’Lo, Gabe [Vincent], and (Jarred Vanderbilt). I think among those four, the guy that they’d prefer to keep from that group would be Rui. That’s the guy that they view as the longest-term piece.”</p><p>Hachimura has been a consistent starter for the Lakers so far this year alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and whoever else JJ Redick decides is right for the matchup on that particular night.</p><h2><b>Will the Lakers make a big trade?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/James-vs-Memphis.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Lakers’ brass, led by Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss, have not made it very clear whether they are all in on maximizing this current core around James and Davis at the expense of younger players and future assets.</p><p>That was most recently demonstrated this past offseason when the Lakers opted to bring back essentially the exact same roster that was gentlemen’s swept in the first round by the Denver Nuggets last year.</p><p>Still, it’s not outside the realm of possibility to think that the Lakers could potentially move players like D’Angelo Russell or Max Christie in order to reshuffle things around, even if they aren’t in position to land one of the bigger names that figure to be on the trade market.</p><p>In any case, the Lakers will next take the floor on Thursday evening on the road vs the Sacramento Kings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers’ trade stance on Rui Hachimura among vets opens eyes

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-la-plan-lebron-james-austin-reaves-injuries');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rui Hachimura reveals Lakers’ eye-opening plan amid LeBron James, Austin Reaves injuries');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_1083.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rui Hachimura reveals Lakers’ eye-opening plan amid LeBron James, Austin Reaves injuries</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-11T20:41:12-08:00">December 11th, 8:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-11T20:41:12-08:00">December 11th, 8:41pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – Coming into last Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers were down two starters in LeBron James and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-austin-reaves-major-injury-update-heat-game">Austin Reaves due to injury</a>. It’s been a recurring theme for them this season, but they were able to put away the Blazers with a 107-98 win. One player in particular <a href="https://x.com/LSH_lakeshow/status/1866211937882886155" rel="noopener">who stepped up</a> in a big way for the Lakers was Rui Hachimura.</p><p>During <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-major-reason-strong-start-2024-25-season">Rui Hachimura’s tenure with the Lakers</a>, he’s been their third scoring option at times. With the Lakers needing offensive production amid the injury woes to LeBron James and Austin Reaves, Hachimura responded with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field.</p><p>Following the game, Hachimura spoke about what the Lakers did to get a much-needed win despite missing both James and Reaves.</p><p>“What we didn’t do this whole season, we did in this game,” Hachimura said. “The coaches told me I had to step up tonight, so I was ready for it. As a team, I think we were moving the ball well.”</p><p>One of the things in particular that the Lakers did against the Blazers that they haven’t done much of all season was call an ATO play for Hachimura. Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick joked that the last time that happened was back during the preseason.</p><p>“When LeBron was scratched, I went into my office and I put like seven ATO’s together that obviously didn’t involve him. One of which was for Rui which I don’t know if we’ve called an ATO for him since the preseason,” Redick said. “And we executed it, we scored. We ended up running that nine or ten times, I think they stopped it once. So I think that flexibility is important.”</p><p>No further updates are available as of publication regarding James and Reaves’ injuries, so the Lakers might want to keep prepping for things they haven’t done all season if they want to remain competitive in the meantime.</p><h2><b>Rui Hachimura’s role for Lakers</b></h2><p>Hachimura’s role since joining the Lakers via trade with the Washington Wizards has been to be a consistent scoring option, sometimes even the third scoring option. He’s been a double digit scorer for his career and the Lakers definitely needed his offensive production against the Blazers.</p><p>For much of the game against the Blazers, Hachimura was most effective with the ball in his hands and being able to isolate at the nail off a switch. Going to back to his college days at Gonzaga, it’s where he’s always been most effective.</p><p>“Since I was in college, that’s literally my spot. . .that’s why I got drafted,” Hachimura said. “I like to play at the elbows, and it’s easier for me. There’s a lot of options. I can drive, I can just shoot over, and if somebody comes I can pass.”</p><p>It wasn’t just Hachimura’s offense though that was a major factor in the win. He finished with four steals and was very active on the defensive end all game. He acknowledged that it was a concerted effort to be more engaged on that end of the court.</p><p>“I was just trying to be aggressive. Defensively we’ve been struggling,” Hachimura said.</p><p>The Lakers resume play on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday before returning home against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rui Hachimura reveals Lakers’ eye-opening plan amid LeBron James, Austin Reaves injuries

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-truth-bomb-disappointing-loss-nuggets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rui Hachimura drops truth bomb on Lakers’ disappointing loss vs. Nuggets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_1033.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rui Hachimura drops truth bomb on Lakers’ disappointing loss vs. Nuggets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-24T10:51:52-08:00">November 24th, 10:51am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-24T10:51:52-08:00">November 24th, 10:51am</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – During the first half of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 127-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets, it looked like they were on pace to get the monkey off their back. After back-t0-back humiliating playoff losses to the Nuggets, the Lakers were off and running, building up a double digit lead in the second quarter. With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-injury-update-nuggets-showdown">Rui Hachimura back in the lineup from injury</a>, the Lakers had an additional boost.</p><p>But the game followed the same pattern as the Lakers’ first round series loss to the Nuggets last spring. A strong showing early, only for the Nuggets to come storming back and <a href="https://x.com/Dave_Yapkowitz/status/1860558218000249069" rel="noopener">seize control of the game</a>. The Lakers did not come out of halftime with the necessary focus and intensity as they suffered another defeat to their Western Conference nemesis.</p><p>Following the game, Rui Hachimura, who has been part of the team during both playoff losses at the hands of the Nuggets, spoke about what he felt was the cause for the second half disappointment.</p><p>“I think we just kind of relaxed,” Hachimura said. “I know we had a ten point lead. . .but I think we had another good rhythm, and then we kind of relaxed for some reason. In the third quarter, they just knew and they just played hard. We just couldn’t fight back and that was the game.”</p><p>Going back to the 2022-23 season, the Lakers are 3-14 against the Nuggets including the playoffs. Lakers head coach JJ Redick was direct when assessing what went wrong in the second half.</p><p>”Schematically, certainly we’ll have to review some stuff,” Redick said. “Clearly the spirit and compete just wasn’t there.”</p><h2><b>Rui Hachimura’s return for Lakers</b></h2><p>Hachimura had been sidelined for four straight games due to an ankle injury before making his return to the lineup against the Nuggets. Rookie wing Dalton Knecht had taken Hachimura’s place in the starting lineup and had played well in his absence.</p><p>But Redick had acknowledged that the expectation was for Hachimura to stay in the Lakers’ starting lineup upon his return.</p><p>Against the Nuggets, Hachimura had a solid return. He finished with ten points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal in 22 minutes of play. He shot 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from the three-point line. As he works his way back into the lineup, he’ll have to be that consistent outside shooting threat that Knecht brought to the starters.</p><p>So far on the season, he’s shooting a career-high 50 percent from three-point range on a career-high 3.6 attempts. Before the Nuggets’ game, Redick spoke about what he’s seen from Hachimura early in the season.</p><p>“I think he’s done a really good job of shooting, catch and shoot threes, attacking close-outs, putting pressure on the rim, playing early in transition,’ Redick said. “We have posted him at times, sometimes organically, when he has a smaller guy on him. But in terms of his overall shot selection, I really like it.”</p><p>Hachuimura has been averaging 12.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He’s actually shooting better from three-point rang (50 percent) than he is from the field (43 percent).</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rui Hachimura drops truth bomb on Lakers’ disappointing loss vs. Nuggets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-injury-update-nuggets-showdown');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rui Hachimura gets crucial injury update ahead of Nuggets showdown');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_1030.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rui Hachimura gets crucial injury update ahead of Nuggets showdown</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-22T18:26:09-08:00">November 22nd, 6:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-22T18:26:09-08:00">November 22nd, 6:26pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers have a big showdown coming up at home against the Denver Nuggets this weekend. The Nuggets received a major boost on Friday with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-playing-mavericks-nba-cup-update">Nikola Jokic making his return</a> to the lineup after being out due to the birth of a new child. But the Lakers are set to receive a boost of their own. Rui Hachimura is no longer on the Lakers’ injury report, clearing the way <a href="https://x.com/Dave_Yapkowitz/status/1860133345784696876" rel="noopener">for him to return</a> to the lineup against the Nuggets.</p><p>Rui Hachimura had missed the Lakers’ last four games due to an ankle injury. During that time, rookie wing Dalton Knecht had replaced him in the starting lineup.</p><p>Knecht has played well enough that Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick fielded questions about the rookie remaining in the starting lineup upon Hachimura’s return. While Redick has acknowledged that nothing is quite definitive, he didn’t anticipate Hachimura not starting upon his return.</p><p>With a Western Conference rival coming to town, the Lakers will take all the firepower they can get. Their frontcourt remains short-handed due to injury with Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood still sidelined. Rookies Bronny James and Quincy Olivari have been added to the injury report as out as well.</p><p>The Lakers are coming off a tough loss at home to the Orlando Magic during which they missed several free-throws down the stretch, paving the way for the eventual Franz Wagner game-winner.</p><h2><b>Rui Hachimura’s season for the Lakers</b></h2><p>During the early-goings of the 2024-25 season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-major-reason-strong-start-2024-25-season">Hachimura has been solid</a>. He’s shown an increased aggressiveness offensively with a knack for moving off ball and putting himself in good scoring position.</p><p>Hachimura has appeared in ten games for the Lakers so far this season at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 12.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists with splits of 42.1 percent shooting from the field, 50 percent shooting from the three-point line and 82.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>His three-point shooting percentage is a career-high. One of the things Redick and the coaching staff have challenged Hachimura to do is be more aggressive on the glass. His 6.1 rebounds ties a career-high which he averaged during his rookie season in 2019-20.</p><p>This is the Japanese native’s second full season with the Lakers after being acquired in a trade with the Washington Wizards in the middle of the 2022-23 season. The former No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft played the first three and a half seasons of his career with the Wizards.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rui Hachimura gets crucial injury update ahead of Nuggets showdown

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-rui-hachimuras-hilarious-admission-nba-cup');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rui Hachimura’s hilarious admission about NBA Cup');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/IMG_0967.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rui Hachimura’s hilarious admission about NBA Cup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-14T18:32:38-08:00">November 14th, 6:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-14T18:32:38-08:00">November 14th, 6:32pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers take their first step towards <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-heartfelt-message-gregg-popovich-spurs-nba-cup-clash">defending their NBA Cup title when they hit the road</a> against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. Although the Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup, they proceeded to lose ten of their next 13 games. Following the Lakers’ <a href="https://x.com/Lakers/status/1856898203251032448" rel="noopener">home win against the Memphis Grizzlies</a> on Tuesday, Rui Hachimura was very honest when asked about what the team’s approach is to the cup this season.</p><p>“We just want the money. I think that’s the one thing we kind of, last year, we were very motivated,” Hachimura said. “We have the big prize, we’re playing in Vegas. Vegas is like our homecourt basically. There’s a lot of our Lakers fans. We always go there for preseason games and we always have a good time there.”</p><p>The prize money and the location are certainly a big motivating factor in winning the NBA Cup. Each player on the cup championship team wins a little over $500,000. For the two-way contract guys, that essentially doubles their salary.</p><p>But there are on-court positives for being able to string together a consistent run to the cup title game. Hachimura spoke about how having the tournament about halfway to the All-Star break brings added inspiration amid an 82-game grind.</p><p>“The season is 82 games. All the way to All-Star is so long and then we kind of get sometimes bored. I think this tournament thing kind of motivates us to kind of get on a different level,” Hachimura said. “Especially for us, to make it to the playoff and go to the championship. . .it’s good that we kind of build our chemistry early on.”</p><p>Hachimura is not the only person on the team who is eyeing the prize money for the winning team. The winning head coach is also awarded $500,000. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Lakers head coach JJ Redick.</p><p>“I found out that the coaches slo get a bonus,” Redick joked following the Lakers’ win against the Grizzlies. “I expect our guys to be highly competitive. I said this a number of times last year, you don’t need to give a reason for competitive people to compete. They wake up in the morning, they want to compete.”</p><h2><b>Rui Hachimura’s role with Lakers</b></h2><p>Coming into the 2024-25 season, Hachimura was a player who was identified as someone who needed to have a big season for the Lakers to achieve success.</p><p>He was initially acquired by the Lakers during a midseason trade with the Washington Wizards during 2022-23. It was the first of a couple of trade deadline moves the team would make that year that helped power a run to the Western Conference Finals.</p><p>He’s done well so far this season playing off LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He’s been aggressive in terms of his activity in the paint and around the basket, and he’s been knocking down his open three-point shots. His two threes early in the first quarter helped the Lakers get off to a good start against Memphis.</p><p>“We needed a good start. Sometimes we kind have a slow start. . .Of course I made those two threes but also defensively, we are moving, we are guarding,” Hachimura said. “We executed and I think that was a good first quarter.”</p><p>The Lakers hit the road for a brief, two-game trip against the Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
11.9	5.5	1.7	0.6	1.0

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
11.9	5.5	1.7	0.6	1.0

Rui Hachimura

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Rui Hachimura’s hilarious admission about NBA Cup

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