San Antonio is experiencing one of its most mercurial seasons to date and right when it seems they are building momentum, they go and lose to the hapless Chicago Bulls. They now sit at 16-15 after giving out a beatdown to the 76ers. However, they are slated for a lottery pick right now. In that vein, this week’s prospect to watch is likely lottery pick Rui Hachimura.
The 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior has been steadily improving and has finally broken out this season. He’s been a Duke killer and general assassin this season as he’s shooting well from everywhere on the floor and has become a solid defender to boot. He does a little bit of everything well and would be a great fit on this Spurs team. Here are some of his stats so far this season.
- 21.7 PPG, 1.8 APG, 6.5 RPG
- 54.7 FG%, 43.8 3P%, 71.8 FT%
- 121.7 ORtg, 105.7 DRtg, 26.0 PER
Hachimura has improved his offensive game the most in the post where he has a bevy of moves he can use to get his shot off. He’s bigger than a lot of guys who guard him and he can bully them into the shot he wants — and does that at times — but he usually makes a sound move to get an easy shot. That bodes well for the next level as he won’t be able to pound his defender into submission for a bucket. He’s also become a mid-range assassin as he is comfortable hitting from the elbows, particularly on catch-and-shoot opportunities.
It doesn’t stop there on offense for Hachimura either. He’s become a solid shooter from all over the floor and could be a real weapon if he becomes less reluctant to shoot it from beyond the arc on the pick-and-pop. He’s a good athlete, solid rebounder at his position and has an excellent motor.
There are a few things the young man can improve upon like: being a more willing shooter, not getting lost on defense as much and being more aggressive on defense. He’ll have to get a better handle on his dribble as well as getting a better feel for the game on the defensive end. If those things happen then he is going to be a great pick in 2019’s NBA Draft and he will be an even bigger monster in the collegiate ranks than he has been so far this season.
