The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed back LeBron James and Rui Hachimura to their lineup on Saturday, following extended absences due to injury. In Hachimura’s case, he had missed nine games with a knee injury.
Despite being cleared to play shortly before the Lakers’ 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls, Hachimura came off the bench, with coach JJ Redick opting to continue starting Dorian Finney-Smith. Redick had previously stated that Hachimura would be on a minutes restriction for several games.
Rui Hachimura Questionable For Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic
Hachimura’s playing time was limited to 18 minutes against the Bulls, and he is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic.
After the game, Hachimura discussed his recovery, saying, “It’s like 70-80 [percent]. My knee is gonna be like that for a while. I can’t really get back to 100 percent. I got to rest for a long time to get back to normal, but I don’t think we have that. So we’re just going to maintain and manage it.”
With only 12 regular-season games remaining and a condensed schedule, Redick acknowledged the lack of practice time to reintegrate James and Hachimura. Against the Bulls, Hachimura scored five points, shooting 2-of-6 from the field and 1-of-4 from three-point range.
Hachimura recognized that he would need to manage his knee injury for the rest of the regular season. “Whatever you do, jumps, stops, slides, everything’s gonna feel it,” he said. “That’s gonna be the key for me, just getting stronger. All the movements, all this stuff, everything is gonna feel it. So I have to kind of manage it and play through it.”
Before his injury, Hachimura had become a reliable role player for the Lakers, known for his consistent catch-and-shoot three-point shooting and off-ball movement. In his 51 games this season, averaging just over 31 minutes per game, he has recorded 13.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, with shooting splits of 50.4% from the field, 40.7% from three-point range, and 76.5% from the free-throw line.