Washington Wizards: Goals for each prospect entering Orlando
By Jack Skolnik
Goals for Rui Hachimura: Improve 3 point shooting/ lateral quickness
Up to this point in his rookie season, Rui Hachimura has been as good as advertised, if not better. Coming out of Gonzaga, Rui was considered a high-floor prospect who could come in and contribute right away, which is precisely what he has done.
Throughout the year, Hachimura has grown more and more comfortable within the offense, showing promise with and without the ball. He has rebounded well for his position – leading all rookies in rebounds per game – and has scored at a solid rate. He probably will not be Rookie of the Yea, but I don’t think anybody will be complaining about his numbers this season. He is averaging, 13.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in almost 30 minutes per game.
The biggest issue right now for Rui is his three-point shot. It is interesting watching Rui right now because he is a deadly mid-range shooter but as he works his way out starts to find some more problems.
He is currently shooting 27.4 percent from three on 1.8 attempts per game. These numbers are not anything to necessarily worry about at the moment. However, in today’s NBA, especially with John Wall as your point guard, spacing is critical. If Rui can find the range, he’ll open up the floor for himself and his teammates.
As far as mechanics, go his shot is a bit flat, and his feet need to wider. Orlando will give him a great chance to work on this during live NBA action.
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Defensively, Rui needs to work on his lateral quickness. He is a solid athlete in the grand scheme of things but looks a bit slow, especially when he gets matched up against better ball handling bigs/forwards.
Rui’s size gives him the perfect build to be a stretch four in today’s NBA. But right now, he isn’t enough of a three-point threat to really spread the floor, and he struggles defending against bigger bodies.
For a rookie, Rui’s immediate impact has been impressive all season. He’s a three-point shot away from being a dangerous all-around scorer, and some smarter defense could go a long way.