Washington Wizards: Rui Hachimura needs to stop his disappearing acts

It’s become common for Rui Hahcimura to come out aggressively to start games for the Washington Wizards. Why do things change after halftime?

When the Washington Wizards selected Rui Hachimura 9th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, fans weren’t universally praising the move. But fast-forwarding eight months and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the District with a bad thing to say about the rookie.

One of the most impressive parts of Hachimura’s game has been his fearless, almost brash, confidence. The 22-year old never seems rattled, and always seems ready for a challenge. His bullish balling has led to some hot starts, and he’s only been more impressive since returning from injury.

But while it looks like the game slowed down for Hachimura during his 23-game absence that had him sidelined for most of December and all of January, a new development has soured his somewhat sensational return.

When comparing Hachimura’s play pre- and post-injury, it’s pretty obvious that he’s gotten better throughout the season. In 25 games pre-injury, Hachimura averaged 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 46 percent from the field and 15 percent from three. In 11 games since returning, his numbers have improved to 14 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. His shooting percentages have improved, as well. He’s now shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three.

But while Rui is putting up some impressive numbers, his impact doesn’t seem to be felt throughout the entirety of the game. In fact, Rui’s first-half numbers vs his second-half numbers since returning from injury are astonishing.

• First half: 9.6 points (on seven shots) and 4.2 rebounds
• Second half: 4.8 points (on four shots) and 3.25 rebounds

These averages aren’t the product of a few outliers skewing the data. Although it’s not a huge sample size, the trends are consistent.

In his past 11 games, Hachimura has scored in double figures in the first half seven times, only scoring less than six points in to of those first halves. In those same 11 games, he’s only scored ten or more points in the second half once and has only scored above six points twice.

Maybe Hachimura’s scoring is down because his attempts decrease after halftime, too. Only twice in the past eleven games has Hachimura taken less than five shots from the field during the first half. In the second halves of those games, he’s taken five or more shots just twice.

And it’s been happening all season, according to Basketball-Reference. This season, Hachimura has attempted 245 first-half shots and made 129 of them or 53 percent. In the second half, however, he’s taken just 169 shots and made only 74 or 43 percent.

If Hachimura struggles to heat up or had an issue establishing himself early in ball games, that would be one thing. But nothing could further from the truth. He’s aggressive – and usually successful – to open games, he just somehow fades to the background as it goes on.

The obvious reason for this is Bradley Beal. While the Wizards can afford to spread the wealth early in the game, they’re often relying on their scoring machine to keep them in games down the stretch. It’s hard to argue with such a strategy. If the Wizards need a bucket, Beal’s their best bet. But unfortunately, it’s coming at the expense of Hachimura as he gets frozen out again and again.

Now, Beal is getting more and more attention for opposing defenses the more 40-point games he drops, which means double teams aplenty late in games. But, it’s Davis Bertans who is second in the pecking order. Not Rui Hachimura.

With his quick trigger and unending range, it is once again hard to argue against some late-game Laser, but again it comes at the detriment of Hachimura.

Beal and Bertans are options one and two on offense, and that’s fine. But as games go on, Beal and Bertans slowly become the only options as guys like Hachimura become just part of the scenery. With the way Beal’s been scoring, especially in the fourth quarter, it’s not surprising. But with the season supposed to be about development, is letting the All-Star take over really the best way to close games? Especially when the Wizard are 1-9 when Beal scores 40+ this season.

It’s hard to argue against letting Beal cook late in games. But from a winning perspective, the huge point totals haven’t consistently turned into wins. And from a development perspective, the young guys won’t get much better if they aren’t doing much when it matters.

In the case of Rui Hachimura, the Wizards need to find a way to get him more involved lest they risk stunting his development.