What Clippers Fans Can Expect From Rui Hachimura

The Los Angeles Clippers made their first external free agent signing of the summer on Monday when they agreed on a two-year, $28 million deal with Rui Hachimura. The 28-year-old forward brings much-needed quality and depth in the forward rotation, but what else does he provide on the court? What should the fanbase expect from him?

Rui Hachimura's Strengths

Hachimura should be a familiar face for most basketball fans as he has been a legitimate playoff contributor for the past four seasons. He made the postseason in each of the last four years with the Lakers, starting in 21 out of their 36 playoff games. In their last two playoff runs, Hachimura has been one of the most impactful role players on the Lakers.

The number one thing Hachimura brings is his shooting. He is the all-time playoff leader in three-point accuracy. He is 81/157 (51.6%) from downtown in his playoff career. In each of his last three seasons, the Japanese forward has made over 40% of his threes.

Admittedly, he is not a high-volume shooter. He does most of his damage as a catch-and-shoot player. He has benefitted from playing next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James, who are as good as any player in NBA history in creating open looks. He doesn't have much versatility to his shot as he doesn't necessarily bomb threes coming off screens or create looks off the dribble. This is why he isn't considered one of the most elite shooters in the league.

Yet, his catch-and-shoot ability is still very important for spacing the floor. Given that the Clippers will have Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler, and Brandon Ingram to do the shot creation, they can just have Hachimura in the same role he had with the Lakers.

Rui Hachimura's Weaknesses

The other aspects of Hachimura's game are more of a mixed bag. Earlier in his career with Washington, Hachimura had the ball in his hands more. He was able to create decent mid-range looks for himself, but was never particularly good at setting up his teammates. This part of his game has been completely forgotten in LA. Whether the Clippers will allow him to do more with the ball in his hands remains to be seen.

He rarely gets to the free-throw line. His free-throw attempt rate has declined steadily throughout his career, going from .257 in his rookie season to a career-low .121 last season. This is partly due to his role with the Lakers, but a lot of it is his lack of aggressiveness and inability to play through contact. Hachimura rarely attacks the basket and gets all the way to the rim, making him a very jump shot-dependent player.

Defensively, Hachimura can hold his own against bigger players. He can guard some centers, including a solid showing against Nikola Jokic in the playoffs. He is a good post defender and has some positional strength. Against smaller, quicker players, however, Hachimura can struggle.

An underwhelming aspect of Hachimura's game is his help defense. Relative to his size, he is not a defensive disruptor at all, averaging meager steal and block numbers throughout his career. He doesn't make much of a defensive impact other than defending his guy one-on-one.

Rebounding is another area in which Hachimura is not particularly impressive. His rebounding rate has taken a hit throughout the years as he started to spend more time out on the perimeter. The Clippers' rebounding issues are unlikely to be fixed by the addition of Hachimura.

Hachimura has dealt with minor injuries throughout his career and has never played 70 games in a season. However, he is able to expand his role in the playoffs, averaging 37.9 minutes per game in the Lakers' last two playoff runs.

The Clippers needed a quality forward to add to their rotation and they certainly got one in Hachimura. The veteran forward is far from an all-around option as he is limited in the floor game. However, he has enough strengths to make this an undeniably good addition for the Clippers.

Add us as a preferred source on Google