Rui Hachimura’s acknowledgment of LA chemistry

LOS ANGELES – During the preseason, c Los Angeles Lakers had a full lineup, minus LeBron James, for all games, and it was the last preseason game of their schedule. With a full slate of six preseason games this season, The Lakers had key players in and out of the lineup. During the Lakers’ first loss to the Warriors this week, it was evident that the chemistry is still there, as he noted Rui Hachimura.

Following the Lakers 119-109 defeat of Warriors on Tuesday, Rui Hachimura acknowledged that the team is still working through chemistry and cohesiveness after adding several key players to the rotation in the offseason.

“We just started. This is probably the second game we play together with everyone,” Hachimura said. “We’re still trying to figure out our rhythm. Everybody, we’re still trying to get to know each other. We’ve had a lot of practices … especially against Golden State, they’ve been playing together for probably four or five years, so that was the difference.”

“Other than that, I think we did a lot of things we needed to do,” Hachimura continued. “It’s a process, we’ll get better.”

Against the Warriors, Hachimura had solid stats of nine points, four rebounds and three assists while shooting 3-of-6 from the field, all three-pointers. With James out for at least four weeks with a nerve injury, Hachimura will get more opportunities in the lineup.

After the Warriors loss, Lakers head coach JJ Redick explained how with James out, Hachimura’s role doesn’t change in terms of what the coaching staff is asking him to do.

“Same plan as always,” Redick said. “We’re not going to ask a guy to change his role because someone’s not in the lineup. He’s got to stick to what he does best.”

And for Hachimura, what he did best playing with the Lakers’ core players and playmakers was moving off the ball. Whether it’s spotting to catch and shoot 3-pointers or making timely and powerful cuts along the baseline, Hachimura is one of the Lakers’ better off-balls threats.

Hachimura reaffirmed that he must continue to take those opportunities off the ball.

“There’s going to be a lot of catch and shoot, but you also saw last year that I had a lot of cuts to the back, cuts to the rim,” Hachimura said. “They’re going to start coming, you just can’t do it right away. You’ve got to figure out the space first. We’ve got prosecutor (Deandre Ayton) in the paint. .It’s a little different than before. So I’ve got to figure out the timing.”