Forward Rui Hachimura returned to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup on Saturday, March 22 after being sidelined for almost a month with a left knee injury.
Hachimura had five points, shot 2-for-6 from the field, snared two rebounds and made a steal in 18 minutes in a 146-111 defeat to the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Lakers coach JJ Reddick put Hachimura on a minutes restriction (20-24 minutes) as he began his comeback.
In the second game of Hachimura's comeback, he scored five points again, making 2 of 4 shots and canned 1 of 2 free-throw attempts. He finished with three rebounds and a steal in 24 minutes in a 118-106 road loss to the Orlando Magic.
Just a few weeks ago, the rejuvenated Lakers were riding high with the dynamic one-two punch of LeBron James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, and new acquisition Luka Doncic, the Slovenian superstar.
It began before Hachimura sustained a left patellar tendinopathy injury on February 27.
From February 20 to March 6, the Lakers reeled off eight straight wins, bolstering their playoff credentials.
What followed was a four-game skid, then a three-game win streak before the current three-game losing streak. In other words, they've lost seven of their last 10 games.
The Lakers were missing two starters at the same time for most of that up-and-down stretch. In addition to Hachimura missing a dozen games, James was sidelined for seven games with a groin strain. He also returned to the lineup on March 22.
Rui Hachimura Says Knee is at 70-80%
Hachimura provided an update on the physical condition of his left knee after the game against the Bulls.
"It's like 70, 80 [percent]," Hachimura told reporters. "My knee's going to be like [that] for a while, I think. I can't really get back to 100% right away, [so] I got to rest for like a long time to get back to my normal."
He added, "We just [have] to maintain and manage it."
Meanwhile, Lakers bench boss Reddick said back-to-back blowout losses to the Bulls and the Magic demonstrated the team needs to focus on making defensive improvements.
"We've got to get back to who we are, focusing on that," the coach said, according to The Associated Press. "I think because of the lack of court time, prioritizing rest over shoot-arounds and walk-throughs over the last couple of weeks, we've just developed some really bad habits defensively. That came to fruition."
Reddick continued: "And there's always some weird stuff that happens at this time of the year. To give up 81 points [to the Bulls in a half, and have our worst defensive game of the season when we were whole, was disappointing."
The Lakers (43-28, fourth in the Western Conference) have 11 regular-season games remaining. Their four-game road trip continues against the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, March 26, 27 and 29.
By the Numbers
In his sixth NBA season, Rui Hachimura is averaging 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 52 games.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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