Hachimura hitting his stride on Wizards' bench originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Consistency for the Wizards as a whole has been elusive so far this season. At 5-6, they have had one stretch where they won 3-of-4, but also another when they lost 5-of-6. Kristaps Porzingis has been a rock in their starting lineup, but for the most part, their roster has been hot-and-cold.
Rui Hachimura, though, has been one of the Wizards’ most reliable players so far. On Monday night in a win over the Hornets, he pitched in with 16 points, 11 of them in the second half.
That marked nine games of double-figure scoring for Hachimura in 11 total appearances. Porzingis is the only Wizards player with more double-digit scoring games, as Hachimura is tied with Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma.
Unlike the others, however, Hachimura doesn’t start. As of the end of Monday’s win, he was tied for the NBA lead for double-digit scoring games off the bench. Bennedict Mathurin of the Pacers also has nine.
While he hasn’t been perfect, as evidenced by career-lows in field goal percentage (46.2%) and from the 3-point line (25.0%), Hachimura has taken to his role on the Wizards nicely. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. has his rotation set up to showcase Hachimura’s offense in the second unit and, for the most part, he’s thriving.
Hachimura was a full-time starter the first two years of his career, but came off the bench in 29 of his 42 games last season. This year, he has been a reserve in each game and has flashed the potential of what he can do against other teams’ backups. The Wizards can utilize Hachimura’s offense while also handing him more manageable defensive assignments.
Hachimura’s contributions were essential in Monday’s win. He scored six straight points to finish the third quarter, giving the Wizards a four-point lead in the process. He then followed it up with five points in the fourth quarter and blocked a shot from Kelly Oubre Jr. with 2:32 left as the Wizards were pulling away.
Hachimura showed the blueprint for how he can be effective in the Wizards’ second unit against Charlotte. He scored a series of baskets just by running the floor and playing downhill. Jordan Goodwin (17 points, five assists) found him for a fastbreak dunk in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter, Daniel Gafford set up Hachiura for a baseline slam on a short roll through the lane.
While Hachimura has done a consistent job scoring the ball this season, he has done so despite a wide variance in minutes. He has played as many as 32 minutes in a game and as few as 18. Hachimura is a top-seven player in the rotation, but Unseld Jr. goes with players who have the hot hand in the 4th quarter and sometimes Hachimura doesn’t make the cut.
Against the Hornets, he logged 26 minutes, tied for his 2nd-highest total of the season so far. He got back in Unseld Jr.’s good graces, after playing his season-low 18 minutes just two games ago in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Hachimura may have a unique opportunity to find stability in the 2nd unit, in a way that isn’t possible at other positions. Hachimura has Kuzma firmly in place ahead of him in the starting lineup and no one behind him who has proven a threat to his minutes.
Now in his 4th NBA season, Hachimura has a chance to carve a specific niche and at a good time, given this is the 1st contract year of his career. He can prove his value as a bench scorer and, as he showed on Monday, help his team win games.
That seems like at a minimum a good jumping-off point in the short term. The hope would be over time, his shooting percentages trend upward. The more efficient he is, the more effective he will be as a scorer without a high volume of attempts.
The Wizards, though, don’t need much more from him than they got on Monday.
