Washington Wizards: Studs and duds from the scrimmages in Orlando
By Ethan Smith
Stud: Rui Hachimura
Three scrimmages. Three solid showings from Rui Hachimura. If you were worried about some rookie rust for Rui Hachimura after a few months away from the game, don’t be.
Hachimura looked confident and aggressive through the three scrimmages in the bubble. Without Bradley Beal, Hachimura has become the number one option on offense, leading the team in points and shots in the three scrimmages.
Against the Clippers, in the team’s second scrimmage, Hachimura was particularly impressive. On offense, he was unphased by Kawhi Leonard‘s defensive efforts.
https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/1287218583085256704?s=20
Hachimura’s first half vs the Clippers may have been the best half of basketball while in a Wizards uniform. Of course, it wasn’t “real” basketball, so he wasn’t getting his opponents’ best, but he was still getting it done.
Now the go-to guy on offense in Orlando, Hachimura looked up to the challenge of carrying the load through the final eight games of the season. Unfortunately, his three-point shot didn’t get much better during the time off. Although he scored fairly efficiently, shooting 43% from the field in the scrimmages, Hachimura did nearly all his scoring below the three-point line. He made just two of his five three-point attempts.