Getty Rui Hachimura of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Heading into the final few games of the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers need to keep their eyes on the prize. Their early-season struggles put them in a tough spot, but at the trade deadline, they made a plethora of moves to help improve their playoff chances.
On Friday night, the Lakers took down the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game that was essential to their place in the Western Conference standings. While he didn’t play a major role, Rui Hachimura stepped in and logged solid minutes off the bench. After the game, LeBron James praised the Lakers forward for his play while also showing love to Dennis Schroder.
“It changed the game. That third quarter changed the game,” James said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “D [Schroder] is picking up full court and creating a steal. Got a steal, got an and-one on the other end, and then was able to get another deflection and create an over-and-back on [Karl-Anthony] Towns. So, it was big-time for us. And D has been doing that all year. And Rui’s been great for us when his moment has been called, and he was huge for us tonight.”
Hachimura didn’t shoot very well, but he logged 21:15 off the pine. He finished the night with four points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block on 1-of-4 shooting from the field and 0-of-2 shooting from deep.
As for James, he put up some solid numbers against Minnesota, inching towards a triple-double. He ended the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and two blocks on 7-of-19 shooting from floor and 1-of-3 shooting from distance.
D’Angelo Russell Sounds Off on Anthony Edwards
Meanwhile, when discussing his ability to impact the game in other areas than his scoring, D’Angelo Russell praised the defense of Anthony Edwards.
“We just utilize the matchup. I mean, they got some great defenders over there. They got a great defensive team. They put Anthony Edwards on me, who is a hell of a defender,” Russell said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “So, I mean, I look at it as – create [and] make things happen. Not let him affect the game defensively because that’s what gets him going, and I know that. So, for me, it was just trying to point guard it. Make things easy for everybody else. We just utilize the matchup. I mean, they got some great defenders over there. They got a great defensive team. They put Anthony Edwards on me, who is a hell of a defender. So, I mean, I look at it as – create [and] make things happen. Not let him affect the game defensively because that’s what gets him going, and I know that. So, for me, it was just trying to point guard it. Make things easy for everybody else.”
Anthony Davis Praises Lakers Selflessness
In addition, after LA’s recent win over the Chicago Bulls, Anthony Davis talked about the team’s selflessness and how it helps them develop chemistry quicker.
“I think everybody is selfless, which kind of helps it,” Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Obviously, with limited practice times and Bron just getting back, D-Lo getting back, I think the IQ level is so high that we’re able to fast-track things and read the game. Figure out stuff on the fly. So, that’s the good thing about high-IQ guys. You don’t really need practice. We can just kind of talk about it and then just kind of execute it.”