Lakers News: Rui Hachimura Takes Unsubtle Dig At Darvin Ham's Decision-Making

LA has won six of its last seven.

Since Darvin Ham permanently elevated him into your Los Angeles Lakers' starting five, high-ceilinged combo forward Rui Hachimura has helped absolutely reinvigorate the club. To wit, LA has won five of those six contents (and six out of its last seven overall), including three straight. In those six starts, the 6'8" Gonzaga product is looking like his 2023 playoffs self, averaging 15 points on eye-popping efficiency (64% from the floor and 41% from deep).

So why hasn't he been starting all year, despite clearly earning the trust of LA's front office (to the tune of a three-year, $51 million contract)?

It turns out that's something Hachimura, too, has been wondering.

In comments made to gathered media after the game (h/t to Michael Corvo of ClutchPoints), Hachimura appeared to take a not-so-subtle dig at his head coach's weird lineup tinkering this season, before Ham perhaps inevitably landed on one of his most-used playoff groups: Hachimura and All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt, with guards D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in the backcourt.

"I've been telling 'em, like, this is who we are," Hachimura said. "We've been trying like a lot of different things, lineups, all this stuff. But this is the lineup we had in the playoffs, and that's how we won. So, you know, it's that simple."

Elsewhere in his postgame remarks, Hachimura added further insight.

“When I get into the game I want to impact the game... I want to be the X-Factor... be aggressive, use my size, whatever it takes to help us win.” pic.twitter.com/m033npmzhq

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 15, 2024

"We all have a chemistry, [that] starting lineup," Hachimura added.

Hachimura is actually pacing LA in raw plus-minus this season. Across his 41 healthy games, Hachimura is averaging 11.4 points on .506/.377/.724 shooting splits, plus 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals a night.