Throughout the LA Clippers’ opening night, one of the main outliers, not for good reason, was certainly Rui Hachimura. He walked into his first-ever game as a Clipper expected to be the team’s second scoring option and finished with just 10 points in 32 minutes (tied for the team high), shooting an atrocious 3-for-13 from the field and 2-for-7 from beyond the arc. He couldn’t even get his free throws to fall, going 2-for-5 from the line, which underscores his significant underperformance.
However, despite the missed shots everywhere on the court, Hachimura still showed encouraging signs by staying aggressive on offense, leaving his mark on the glass with 8 rebounds, and shining on defense.
Sure, Hachimura's outing will still be seen as rough, but in the bigger picture, there are several positives to take away.
Rui Hachimura showed encouraging signs even though he didn’t shoot well
After starting off on the wrong foot, Rui Hachimura could’ve easily let the missed baskets get to him, put his head down, and remained a non-factor throughout the rest of the game. This type of sequence has happened too many times to count. Spoiler alert: Hachimura didn’t, and that’s what matters more than an off night from the field.
He went the extra mile to make an impact beyond points, which is what he’s best at, and that helped the Clippers win by 25.
One of those areas was rebounding. In grabbing 8 rebounds, second only to Brook Lopez’s 11, Hachimura was repeatedly seen boxing out relentlessly on both ends of the court. That is what the Clippers need from the starting power forward slot, especially with an undersized starting center in Isaiah Jackson, and he did just that.
We also can’t end the conversation on Hachimura’s night without discussing his defense. He had a ridiculous block late in the second quarter that led to an easy two from Darius Garland, and overall, he held his own.
For context, in Hachimura’s 32 minutes, he finished with a defensive rating of 95.6. That is very good, especially for a player who isn’t known for thriving on that side of the ball.
At the end of the day, missed shots are nothing to worry about. Hachimura is more than capable of scoring in high numbers. What matters more is how he responded when his jumper was off; long story short, it was good enough.
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