Former Wizard Leads His New Team In Scoring In Lakers Playoff Debut

It today’s NBA, most fans are fans of players more so than teams. The reason behind that is simply due to the fact that players are moved quite often in the league. These moves could be a choice or decision made by the front office, a choice or decision made by a player in free agency, or even a decision made by a player if they choose to demand a trade. We truly are living in an era where the player’s are in control of their futures.

"I wanna show what I can do for my country." 🙌🏾

Rui Hachimura on his inspiration following his Game 1 performance pic.twitter.com/tfF6S2fZlo
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 16, 2023

This season, the Wizards moved on from the Japan Native, Rui Hachimura. It was something difficult to accept because we know the potential that’s there for Hachimura. Rui Hachimura has playoff experience as the Wizards made the playoffs in 2021. However, today he took that experience to his advantage as he made his playoff debut for the LA Lakers.

LeBron James & Anthony Davis today:
Davis:
22 points
12 rebounds
3 steals!!!
7 blocks!!!! (Career high playoffs)
10/17

LeBron:
21 points
11 rebounds
5 assists
2 steals
3 blocks
8/16 #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/czoIHMqbqi
— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) April 16, 2023

Playing next to a Superstar in the NBA is not the easiest thing to do, especially when it comes to LeBron James. James is so dynamic and does so many things well that it can be a bit difficult to figure out your role next to him. Adding another Superstar in the mix in Anthony Davis only complicates matters even further as he does so many things well on both ends of the floor and poses a matchup problem for the opponents every night.

Rui Hachimura is the first Laker with 25+ PTS off the bench in a Playoff game since:

Magic Johnson (1996) pic.twitter.com/hsZ10k1vn8
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) April 16, 2023

However, Rui was in full effect as he led the Lakers in scoring with 29 in their first game of the seven game series vs. the Memphis Grizzlies as they picked up an impressive 128-112 victory yesterday. Rui was a man child in this game! He was simply all over the place as he was able to attack the basket, hit a few mid range shots, and even managed to knock down five of six from beyond the ark as well.