Rui

Hachimura

After scoring a season-low eight points in Saturday’s loss to the Hawks, Hachimura rebounded nicely in Charlotte. While the return of Austin Reaves from a groin injury knocked the forward down a peg in the offensive pecking order, Rui benefited from the improved spacing. The result was his third 20-point game of the season, with Hachimura shooting 75 percent from the field and 100 percent from three. Rostered in 27 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he’s providing 10th-round value in nine-cat formats.

With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined for the second leg of the Lakers’ back-to-back, Hachimura was one of the players that stepped up on offense. Hachimura had another efficient scoring night and set a new season-high for points. In fact, he has yet to make less than 50 percent of his shot attempts in a game this season. He won’t see the same volume most nights, but this was an excellent outing for him.

After putting up 23 points in Friday’s win over the Timberwolves, Hachimura followed that up with another solid performance against the Kings. The only issue was that he did not provide much value in the rebound category. However, Hachimura is in a spot where he can produce more offense, as the Lakers will be without Luka Dončić for at least one week. Hachimura is rostered in just 24 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and he’s worth picking up ahead of the Lakers’ four-game Week 2.

Hachimura excelled in one area statistically on Friday: scoring. He shot efficiently and added a couple of three-pointers en route to finishing as one of four players to score in double figures. And although the veteran forward’s final line may not stand out in fantasy basketball leagues, it was beneficial for the Lakers as they cruised down the stretch to a win.

This was the second straight game that Hachimura finished with exactly 23 points and five triples. Unfortunately, it was also a second straight single-digit loss for the Lakers, which brought their season to an end. Hachimura improved his numbers and took on a larger role this season with JJ Redick taking over as the team’s head coach. There will certainly be roster changes for Los Angeles this summer, but if Hachimura is kept around, he’ll be a decent, low-upside option in fantasy next season.

Hachimura and Austin Reaves (17/7/4/1/2 with five three-pointers) combined to shoot 10-of-22 from beyond the arc in Game 4, providing solid shooting alongside LeBron James and Luka Doncic. And this was a needed effort for the former, as he totaled 28 points in the first three games of the series. The Game 4 version of Hachimura is who needs to show up for Game 5 on Wednesday, as the Lakers are a loss away from elimination.

James aggravated his strained left groin during the third quarter of Friday’s win over the Rockets. With that victory, the Lakers secured the third seed in the West, so there’s no need for LeBron to play on Sunday. Hachimura will also get some time off as the Lakers look to get everyone healthy for next week’s playoffs. Jordan Goodwin (foot) and Dalton Knecht should play plenty on Sunday, with the former considered probable on the initial injury report.

Hachimura returned to the Lakers’ lineup on Wednesday after sitting out Tuesday’s loss to the Thunder. He was solid during his 38 minutes, shooting 50 percent from the field. The Lakers don’t have another back-to-back this season, but a win over the Rockets on Friday would potentially put them in a position to rest some players for Sunday’s regular season finale. If so, managers in active leagues may not have Hachimura to rely on.

Hachimura missed one game against Oklahoma City but is set to make his return against Dallas. Dorian Finney-Smith will likely move back to the bench with Hachimura healthy again.

Counting Tuesday, Hachimura will have missed two of the Lakers’ last three games. Dorian Finney-Smith moved into the starting lineup on Friday when the Lakers beat the Pelicans, and he would be worth adding in active deep leagues. However, DFS is questionable for Tuesday, so there’s no guarantee he’ll play. Dalton Knecht may have to log rotation minutes despite his defensive struggles.