With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves now both out for extended periods of time, the pressure has turned up for the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers' supporting cast. Given that LeBron James is 41, expecting him to pull off a vintage LeBron-type, backpacking performance into the playoffs is extremely unrealistic.
The problem is that this may be the Lakers' only hope. The supporting cast isn't consistent enough to win games—and that issue starts with Rui Hachimura.
In Sunday's 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Hachimura was phenomenal on offense, scoring 21 points and drilling three triples. The issue is that when he isn't drilling 3s, he has little to no impact. He's not a great defender or rebounder, and he doesn't bring much to the game as a playmaker. These weaknesses only become amplified with two of LA's three stars watching from the sidelines.
A prime example of this came on Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. To be fair, the entire Lakers team couldn't throw a rock into the ocean that night, but Hachimura was especially bad. The Gonzaga product shot 2-for-9 from the field, scored four points, and finished a team-worst minus-39.
Rui Hachimura can’t disappear while Lakers stars are out
The majority of the Lakers' success in March stemmed from running things through Luka and letting him cook and set up his teammates. That has all come crashing down for the Lakers.
Now, JJ Redick is going to need way more from Hachimura. Sunday night, he pulled down seven rebounds, a number he needs to maintain as a starter.
Against Dallas, we saw Luke Kennard turn into Luka Kennard, recording a triple-double with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. That's exactly the type of impact Hachimura should be looking to make.
Hachimura having zero impact on the outcome of a game, depending on how his shot was looking on any particular night, didn't matter a week ago. With two starters out of the picture, him having an off night can flat-out result in a Lakers loss.
This final stretch of the regular season will be a true test. Can Hachimura find some rhythm and shake off being a streaky shooter? If not, can he get back to being the well-rounded player he was when the Lakers first acquired him from the Washington Wizards?
If neither of those things happen, these final four games for LA are about to be extremely ugly, and the postseason will follow suit.