Rui

Hachimura

Vanderbilt was aiming for a 2024 playoff debut in Game 3 but isn’t quite ready to make a return. He’ll get another chance to suit up for Game 4 on Saturday and Rui Hachimura will continue to carry a heavy workload during his absence.

Davis logged 30 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes in a dominant win over the Pelicans on Sunday. However, the oft-injured big man is a question mark for his team’s huge play-in game on Tuesday. Los Angeles will have to lean on Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes more than usual if the star center sits.

Hachimura continued his recent surge on offense, though it took a highly inefficient and voluminous shooting performance to get there. He came into this one sporting averages of 19.0 points, 7.0 boards and 1.9 triples over his last eight games, though his defensive numbers have been nearly non-existent in that span. For that reason, his well-rounded line with three stocks was a welcomed sight. Hachimura has provided top-60 fantasy value over the last three weeks, coming through for fantasy managers when they needed him the most.

With LeBron James (illness) sidelined and Anthony Davis (eye) not returning after the first quarter, the stage was set for Hachimura to have a big night. He did, hitting the 30-point mark for the second time in seven games. Rostered in 58% of Yahoo leagues, Hachimura provided 8th-round per-game value in 9-cat formats over the last month. Although Davis and James are expected to be available on Tuesday, Hachimura is worth a look among standard-league managers needing a frontcourt player who will log starters’ minutes.

Hachimura has been extremely effective over the past month, and that continued in this game. He has now scored in double figures in six straight games and in 13 of their last 14. His red-hot shooting has allowed him to provide fifth-round value over the past two weeks, since he has shot 60.7% from the field during that stretch. It is unlikely that he continues to shoot quite this well, but it has been an excellent few weeks for him. He’ll look to keep it going against Cleveland on Saturday and against Minnesota on Sunday to close out the week.

What a night for Hachimura, who recorded his second double-double of the season and the first of his career with at least 30 points. He also established a new career-high with seven 3-pointers, surpassing the six he hit in the Lakers’ Valentine’s Day win over Utah. Rostered in 40% of Yahoo leagues, Hachimura has provided 5th-round per-game value in 9-cat formats over the past two weeks. Sharing the court with three ball-dominant players (LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell) limits Rui’s fantasy ceiling. However, the Lakers playing two more games in Week 22 makes him worth the risk in standard leagues.

James sat out Tuesday, but Anthony Davis (34 points, 23 boards), D’Angelo Russell (29/7/12) and Austin Reaves (29/14/10) led the way in Los Angeles’ thrilling 2OT win over Milwaukee. James’ return should mean fewer ball-handling responsibilities for Reaves and Russell and a reduced role for Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura.

Hachimura had a productive first half to this game and entered the break with 13 points. Unfortunately, he was only able to contribute one free throw after that. Hachimura doesn’t typically provide much value outside of his decent scoring and rebounding numbers, so he simply wasn’t effective in the second half of this game. He was one of three Lakers to score exactly 14 points, as D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves were also part of the club. They’ll wrap up their week against the Pacers on Sunday before playing a four-game week next week.

While Hachimura had a good night shooting the basketball, this was also an example of why he isn’t the most valuable option in fantasy basketball. He was responsible for just three rebounds and one assist, and over the past month, Rui is ranked well outside the top 150 in 8- and 9-cat formats. While his status as a starter is why Hachimura is rostered in 28% of Yahoo leagues, the lack of production outside of points and 3-pointers is why that percentage won’t rise anytime soon, especially with the Lakers only playing once more in Week 20.

Hachimura may not have provided much production on the boards, but he did surpass the 20-point mark for the second time in three games. A double-digit scorer in five of his last seven, Hachimura’s 29 points are the most he’s accumulated in a game since Valentine’s Day (36 vs. Utah). Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues, he’s ranked just outside the top 100 in 9-cat per-game value over the past two weeks. During this period, Hachimura has averaged 15.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 3-pointers per game. The inconsistent production outside of points makes Hachimura a problematic player to rely on in standard leagues.