Last night, the Lakers lost Game 2 108-103 and fell 2-0 to start the Western Conference Finals. LeBron James and Austin Reeves both scored 22 points last night as Lakers starters. Rui Hachimura was impressive when he was benched with the Lakers in the 2023 playoffs. In a halftime interview last night, Hachimura said the Nuggets “don’t have a protective edge” and that caught the attention of the media.
The 25-year-old Japanese native was traded mid-season to the Lakers from the Washington Wizards. Hachimura was the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft. He played 177 games for Washington and made 118 starts. In 33 regular season games with the Lakers, he started nine.
Head coach Darvin Hamm used Hachimura’s offensive abilities to bench the Lakers in the 2023 post-season. Despite his success, the Lakers lost 2-0 to the Nuggets and desperately need a win in Game 3. NBA betting sites have the Lakers at (-220) to win Game 3 at home.
Rui Hachimura finished the first half 7-7 from the floor, tied with Lamar Odom for best halftime shooting by a Lakers player in the last 25 seasons.
Odom did it in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals against the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/0P59qAOMqB
– ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 19, 2023
Rui Hachimura played 30 minutes and scored 21 points off the bench in Game 2
At halftime, Hachimura was a perfect 7-7 from the field, and caught up with ESPN’s Lisa Salters for a halftime interview. He had 17 points and was clearly feeling himself at that moment. That’s what Hashimura told Salts when asked what he’s been working with offensively.
“Just try to attack the edge. They don’t have an edge guard.” – Rui Hachimura
His comments were subtle shots at Denver’s Nikola Jokic who may not be your typical shot-block rim guard. However, the Lakers failed to make their frame guards make a difference late in the game. It would only take Hachimura three more attempts to score in the second half, making one of those three attempts. After 17 points in the first half, he finished the second game with 21 points.
The Lakers had no answer for Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter last night. Denver BJ was fourth with 14 points and only five made on field goals. Murray took over late in the game and scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth. Jokic and the Nuggets are 2-0 ahead of the Lakers, but we’ve seen some teams make it back to the Conference Finals when they fell 2-0. LeBron James has done this twice in his postseason career.