<!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/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-deandre-ayton-timberwolves-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Rui Hachimura hyped up Deandre Ayton during Timberwolves win');   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/2025/10/IMG_0254.jpeg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Rui Hachimura hyped up Deandre Ayton during Timberwolves win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T17:56:05-07:00">October 26th, 5:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T17:56:05-07:00">October 26th, 5:56pm</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 were able to get into the win column on Friday night after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 128-110. While much of the postgame focus was on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-makes-la-history-back-to-back-40-point-games">Luka Doncic’s franchise record-setting night</a>, a huge part of the win was <a href="https://x.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1981931314954862907" rel="noopener">the increased aggressiveness of</a> Deandre Ayton, especially in the second half of the game.</p><p>For Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, he noticed a shift in Deandre Ayton’s focus coming out of halftime, and he made sure to tap into that to get Ayton fired up.</p><p>“Especially in the second half. . .the first half he didn’t really play that well. After the first half coming out into the third quarter, I saw in his eyes that he was locked in. So I was like, ‘come on DA, let’s go,’” Hachimura said. “He was amazing, rebounding, just being  presence on defense, on offense. . .he did all that we asked for, he was the man.”</p><p>In the win against the Timberwolves, Ayton finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and one blocked shot in 31 minutes. He shot 7-of-11 from the field. Ayton’s Lakers debut on opening night against the Golden State Warriors wasn’t bad; he finished with ten points and six rebounds while shooting 5-of-7 from the field.</p><p>The only issue with Ayton’s first game was that he was a little bit passive. That and it’s clear he’s still building cohesiveness with his new teammates. Following the loss to the Warriors, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-admission-fans-up-in-arms">Ayton admitted that it’s sometimes confusing</a> for teammates to play with a center like him.</p><p>But on Friday, the rest of the team, especially Doncic, made a concerted effort to look for Ayton around the basket. He played with force and aggression, and it felt like half of Doncic’s eight assists were off Ayton’s finishes.</p><p>With the Lakers’ two top scorers in Doncic and LeBron James now sidelined for the time being, this upcoming stretch of games is a chance for Ayton to be even more assertive on the offensive end.</p><p>Throughout his career, the former No. 1 overall pick has always put up borderline All-Star numbers. He holds career averages of 16.4 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 59 percent shooting from the field and 75.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Following the Lakers’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, they come back home on Monday for the second game of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Rui Hachimura hyped up Deandre Ayton during Timberwolves win

<!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/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-why-rui-hachimura-deandre-ayton-strong-bond');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Lakers’ Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton already share strong bond');   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/2025/10/Deandre-Ayton.jpg"><figcaption>William Liang-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Lakers’ Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton already share strong bond</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-24T12:22:39-07:00">October 24th, 12:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-24T12:22:39-07:00">October 24th, 12:22pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-admission-la-chemistry">Lakers are still finding chemistry</a> with the new players on their team, and it looks like things are coming along easily. For Deandre Ayton, he has some familiar faces that he knows on the team, one of whom includes Rui Hachimura from some time ago. Hachimura recently <a href="https://x.com/mcten/status/1981786613845045628" rel="noopener">spoke about his bond</a> with Ayton and where they first met.</p><p>“He has an interesting personality,” Hachimura said. “I love him already. He’s a character. I think me and him are the same age almost. I know him from NBA camp when I was 16, the NBA Without Borders. I was with him that year, so it’s funny to see that it was 10, 12 years ago, and now we’re teammates.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“He has an interesting personality. I love him already. He’s a character.” Rui Hachimura on new Lakers center, Deandre Ayton. Hachimura also shared a funny story about when he first met Ayton at Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Toronto during the 2016 All-Star Weekend. <a href="https://t.co/KusLJQRfdq">pic.twitter.com/KusLJQRfdq</a></p><p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1981786613845045628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It’s good that Hachimura and Ayton are building something off the court, and that should make things easy on the court. Ayton didn’t have a big game in his season debut for the Lakers against the Golden State, but he did what he could to make his presence known.</p><p>As the season progresses, he should be able to get more acclimated with the team, especially with players such as Luka Doncic, who will be feeding him passes for the most part in the pick-and-roll and the paint.</p><h2><b>Lakers still figuring out chemistry with Deandre Ayton</b></h2><p>After their loss against the Warriors, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-admission-fans-up-in-arms">Ayton made an admission</a> that had some fans scratching their heads to start the season.</p><p>“Today I realized, I’m probably a confusing big, when I can roll and stand just in the pocket. It’s probably a little difficult for them sometimes. I’m so used to the league having that low man on me, so sometimes I can’t even finish a roll,” Ayton said via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.</p><p>The pick-and-roll will be key for this team’s success, and Ayton will be involved in those plays a lot. Ayton has a unique skillset where he can pop and shoot a jumpshot, or he can roll to the basket. Once he and the ball handler get on the same page, the play should become seamless. Some fans have already grown tired of Ayton after just watching him in the preseason and the first game of the regular season, but they have to give him some time before making quick judgments.</p><p>Things could get even more confusing when LeBron James returns, as he hasn’t been able to play with Ayton at all yet.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Lakers’ Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton already share strong bond

<!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/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-admission-la-chemistry');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rui Hachimura makes eye-opening admission about Lakers’ chemistry');   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/2025/10/IMG_0240.jpeg"><figcaption>William Liang-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Rui Hachimura makes eye-opening admission about Lakers’ chemistry</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-23T13:14:53-07:00">October 23rd, 1:14pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-23T13:14:53-07:00">October 23rd, 1:14pm</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 preseason, the Los Angeles Lakers had their full lineup, minus LeBron James, for all of one games, and that was the final preseason game of their schedule. With a full slate of six preseason games this season, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-reveals-reasoning-preseason-participation-strategy">Lakers had key players in and out of the lineup</a>. During the Lakers’ opening night loss to the Warriors this week, it was evident the chemistry was still a work in progress as noted by Rui Hachimura.</p><p>Following the Lakers’ <a href="https://x.com/Lakers/status/1980858610650607802" rel="noopener">119-109 loss to the</a> Warriors on Tuesday, Rui Hachimura acknowledged that the team is still working through chemistry and cohesiveness after adding a few key rotations players in the offseason.</p><p>“We just started. This is probably the second game we actually be played together with everybody,” Hachimura said. “We’re still trying to figure out our rhythm. Everybody, we’re still trying to get to know each other. We had a lot of practices. . .especially to go against Golden State, they’ve been playing together for probably four or five years together, so that was the difference.”</p><p>“Other than that, I think we did a lot of things that were supposed to do” Hachimura continued. “It’s a process, we’re going to be better.”</p><p>Against the Warriors, Hachimura had a solid stat line of nine points, four rebounds and three assists while shooting 3-of-6 from the field, all three-point shots. With James out for at least four weeks due to a nerve injury, Hachimura stands to gain more of an opportunity in the lineup.</p><p>Following the Warriors’ loss, Lakers head coach JJ Redick explained how with James out, Hachimura’s role does not change in terms of what the coaching staff is asking him to do.</p><p>“Same plan as always,” Redick said. “We’re not gonna ask a guy to change their role cause someone is out of the lineup. He’s got to stick to doing what he does best.”</p><p>And for Hachimura, what he’s done best playing off the Lakers’ main ball-handlers and playmakers is moving off the ball. Whether that’s spotting up for catch and shoot three-pointers or making timely and forceful cuts along the baseline, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-easy-take-lebron-james-luka-doncic">Hachimura is one of the Lakers’ better off-ball</a> threats.</p><p>Hachimura reaffirmed that he has to continue to take advantage of those off-ball opportunities.</p><p>“Catch-and-shoot is going to be a lot, but also you saw last year I had a lot of back cuts, cutting to the rim,” Hachimura said. “Those are going to start coming, you just can’t do it right away. You have to kind of figure out the space first. We have a DA [Deandre Ayton] in the paint. . .it’s a little different than before. So I got to figure out the timing.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rui Hachimura makes eye-opening admission about Lakers’ chemistry

<!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/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-deandre-ayton-impact-offense');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rui Hachimura highlights Deandre Ayton’s impact on offense');   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/2025/10/IMG_0215.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rui Hachimura highlights Deandre Ayton’s impact on offense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-14T20:20:38-07:00">October 14th, 8:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-14T20:20:38-07:00">October 14th, 8:20pm</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 – Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ disappointing playoff flameout in the opening round last season, it was painfully obvious that their most glaring offseason need was a starting caliber center. After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-speaks-out-after-tough-los-angeles-debut">slow start to the preseason, Deandre Ayton</a> showed that he is the answer for the Lakers up front following their 126-116 win against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.</p><p>The Lakers came into the offseason with little to no money to spend in free agency, and limited assets in terms of a potential trade. But when Dorian Finney-Smith opted to sign with the Houston Rockets, the Lakers suddenly found themselves armed with a couple of free agent exceptions to improve the roster. When Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-deandre-ayton-contract-free-agency-after-blazers-buyout">agreed to a contract buyout, the Lakers had their man</a>.</p><p>Deandre Ayton <a href="https://x.com/LakersLead/status/1977568755333873837" rel="noopener">shone bright during</a> the Lakers preseason win against the Warriors, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 26 minutes. He shot 6- of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. After the game, Rui Hachimura explained the impact that Ayton can have on the Lakers’ offense.</p><p>“It’s been like that with Luka [Doncic] and LeBron [James], but he gets a lot of attention too on the offensive side. For him to be on the floor, it’s good for us, especially for me, Vando [Jarred Vanderbilt], Jake [LaRavia], all those guys. We can get those easy looks,” Hachimura said. “Those are the things he can do too in the post. I think for him, he still has to adjust a little bit with our system, but I think it was a good day for all of us to see what he can do.”</p><p>Throughout Ayton’s seven-year NBA career thus far, he has always been a borderline All-Star in terms of numbers. This past season, he appeared in 40 games for the Blazers at a little over 30 minutes per game. He averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 56.6 percent shooting from the field and 66.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Ayton’s best years offensively came with the Phoenix Suns when he was playing with a dynamic playmaker in Chris Paul. Now, he will play alongside three strong playmakers in Doncic, James and Austin Reaves. While Doncic and James did not play during Sunday’s game, Ayton showed flashes of potential chemistry with Reaves as a finisher.</p><p>Lakers head coach JJ Redick was pleased with what he saw from Ayton against the Warriors, and remarked how the team could do a better job of finding him for scoring opportunities.</p><p>“He was really good in the pocket, and I think that’s similar to some other bigs. Him in the pocket is a really good thing, and we’ve got to find him,” Redick said. “There were opportunities where we didn’t find him, sometimes on the rolls, sometimes on the pocket. But he was great. I thought too, just his poise and his patience as a like a hub, whether he was playing out of horns or playing that second side, you just got some really good stuff when he got the ball at the elbow.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rui Hachimura highlights Deandre Ayton’s impact on offense

<!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/los-angeles-lakers/sources-rui-hachimura-considered-likeliest-fifth-lakers-starter');   ga('set', 'title', 'Sources: Rui Hachimura considered likeliest fifth Lakers starter');   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/2025/10/Lakers-forward-Rui-Hachimura-looks-up.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Sources: Rui Hachimura considered likeliest fifth Lakers starter</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-01T19:54:56-07:00">October 1st, 7:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-01T19:55:26-07:00">October 1st, 7:55pm</time><address><a>Anthony Irwin</a>Anthony Irwin has been covering the Lakers in some capacity for roughly a decade at outlets such as Locked on Lakers, Silver Screen &amp; Roll and Forum Blue &amp; Gold. He currently podcasts about the team on The Lakers Lounge and the NBA in general on Basketball Passport. He looks forward to continuing his reporting for ClutchPoints after entering the rumor foray over the last couple years.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>According to sources close to the Los Angeles Lakers speaking on the condition of anonymity, Rui Hachimura is considered the heavy initial favorite to land the fifth starting spot <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-rui-hachimura-easy-take-lebron-james-luka-doncic">alongside Luka Doncic, LeBron James,</a> Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton.</p><p>Heading into camp, Hachimura was always considered at least a slight favorite over Marcus Smart, but with Smart unable to participate for at least the first week of training camp, that gap has widened considerably.</p><p>When asked about starting at media day, Hachimura pointed to minutes totals as a higher priority than whether or not he was starting, but certainly seemed to make the case for him getting the nod.</p><p>“I mean, it’s coach’s decision,” Hachimura said. “It’s not my decision. It’s not really about who’s starting and not. It’s just the minutes and who can be on the court longer. I think it’s — for me — just whatever the team needs me to do, but we’ve been building the chemistry that I’ve been in the starting five for two, three years. So whatever they decide I have to do, it’s just a matter of the chemistry, how we can build and we can be on the court together and how we can give an impact.”</p><p>Smart, on the other hand, was clearer.</p><p>“I’m here to win,” Smart said. “However that means, that’s me. No matter whether I start or come off the bench, my presence will be made.”</p><h2><b>Hachimura over Smart in the starting lineup?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/IMG_0199.jpeg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>To Hachimura’s point, continuity is a factor, sources say. The Lakers will open the season with a lighter slate and are looking to rack up wins early so as to maintain a higher seeding in the brutal West. As four of the Lakers’ likely starters do have chemistry heading in, the hope is they can use that to help Ayton get comfortable and jump out on teams through offensive firepower.</p><p>Hachimura also hasn’t really done anything to lose his starting gig, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hachiru01.html" rel="noopener">coming off a very good 2024-25 season</a>.</p><p>Another factor is Smart’s long-term health, only further hammered home by his Achilles tendinopathy before camp even started. The concern with starting Smart, even if some in the organization feel it makes sense, is doing so and playing him longer minutes might put to much strain on him and risk his availability for the postseason. JJ Redick and his staff are already playing “the long game” with James and are weighing Smart’s recent injury issues in this decision as well.</p><p>If Smart is able to handle a bench role and is clearly the better fit with the other starters, the coaching staff is open to expanding his role, but first, he’ll have to prove he can stay healthy.</p><p>Sources say Hachimura’s impending free agency is also a factor — albeit a smaller one. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-marcus-smart-signing-winning-proclamation-rob-pelinka">Smart has a player option</a> after this season and could technically be a free agent, too. Still, Hachimura has long maintained a preference to start and, in this contract season, the Lakers would rather not risk losing him before the season even starts.</p><p>Now, keep in mind, it’s extremely early in the Lakers’ 2025-26 campaign, and these decisions are by no means whatsoever final. But for right now, Hachimura, the healthier, younger and, frankly, more talented player at this stage of his and Smart’s careers, high a real edge to remain a starting forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.5	3.8	1.5	0.3	0.5

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.5	3.8	1.5	0.3	0.5

Rui Hachimura

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Sources: Rui Hachimura considered likeliest fifth Lakers starter

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