'The Physical Style': How Rui Hachimura Helped the Lakers Beat the Grizzlies

The basketball came into the hands of Rui Hachimura on a punt pass from Anthony Davis, a key moment early in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies, a moment for one of the newest Lakers to deliver.

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Brown has highlighted matte Troy Brown Jr. stole a pass and took the court, head down and feet moving fast, unaware that Memphis’ John Konchar was chasing him. As he approached the rim, Brown threw a one-handed dunk on Konchar and was fouled on the play. The crowd inside Crypto.com Arena was on its feet and Brown’s teammates were yelling. Brown paused, then posed after his electric game. Brown was low-key about it, not realizing that Konchar had hit him over the head. “Honestly, it all happened so fast that I don’t even remember it,” Brown said. “I was surprised that she jumped. I thought I was in front of him. So, yeah, it was a pretty good play, though.” He said he didn’t even know the dunk went in. “I had no idea,” Brown said. “I heard everyone yelling and he started freaking out there.” Brown had produced another good game for the Lakers, scoring 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, grabbing four rebounds and playing what has become his usually solid overall game. “We definitely needed that win,” Brown said. “That was a great win for us.” The Lakers dominate the boards Davis was a monster on the boards, claiming 22 rebounds. But he wasn’t the only one helping the Lakers outrebound the Grizzlies 57-45. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt had eight rebounds, while point guard Dennis Schroder and Hachimura had six, Malik Beasley five and Brown and Austin Reaves four. “We were great on the glass, so AD with 22 rebounds,” Ham said. “It was incredible. We had several guys with four or more rebounds, and you need that against a team like Memphis. I think it ended up being six guys with four or more rebounds. We always talk about gang rebounds. Not just rely on one or two people, but get everyone involved. And that’s the perfect example of that.” The play-in tournament is not the goal

Hachimura took a quick dribble and stopped for a jumper, making the shot to give the Lakers a one-point lead.

He was doing his part in this game, scoring 17 points and grabbing six rebounds during the Lakers’ 112-103 win over Memphis on Tuesday night.

“Yeah, I was trying to be aggressive on defense, offense and rebounding,” Hachimura said. “I think I had a bigger job on that, and I was able to help the team win.”

Hachimura did just that with his offense, shooting 7-for-11 from the field.

He did it with his defense and rebounding, once again taking a step forward in the absence of LeBron James.

“I think when he can play aggressive and get to the rim, get to the free throw line, the physicality,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of Hachimura. “Everyone encourages him to just let it all flow and he’s trying to do that. Different physical confrontations, he feels those blows. He feels that sometimes they blow his whistle unfairly, and that tends to wake him up and he tends to play a lot more physical. So we thought he was excellent off the bench.”

Hachimura played 27 minutes, 35 seconds, 8:08 in the fourth quarter, showing how much faith Ham had in Hachimura when the game was still in doubt.

“The role and everything, the minutes and everything changes, so it’s hard for me to adjust,” Hachimura said. “But it’s the same for everyone. I just have to get used to it. I have to always be ready and have an impact on the game.”

Here are three more takeaways from the Lakers’ victory on Tuesday: