{"id":172369,"date":"2026-01-11T17:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T22:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=172369"},"modified":"2026-01-11T17:14:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T22:14:21","slug":"jj-redick-lakers-rui-hachimura-return-off-bench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/11\/jj-redick-lakers-rui-hachimura-return-off-bench\/","title":{"rendered":"JJ Redick Grants Lakers Fans\u2019 Wishes for Rui Hachimura’s Return"},"content":{"rendered":"

After missing six games due to a right calf strain, Lakers forward <\/span>Rui Hachimura<\/span><\/a> will return to action this week. But according to head coach JJ Redick, that comeback includes a catch.<\/span><\/p>\n

JJ Redick Grants Lakers Fans\u2019 Wishes for Rui Hachimura’s Return<\/b><\/h2>\n

Redick Bringing Hachimura Off the Bench<\/b><\/h3>\n

During his media availability following a Sunday practice, Redick told reporters that Hachimura would be placed on a minutes restriction upon his return.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gonna be on a minutes restriction when he comes back. So, he\u2019ll likely come off the bench similar to what we did with AR [<\/span>Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a>] when he was on his minutes restriction. His minutes are gonna be determined if he is available. Whether it\u2019s tomorrow, Tuesday, he\u2019ll be available this week and we\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 27 starts this season, Hachimura averaged 12.7 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field and 44% from three. But despite his efficient offensive output next to Reaves, <\/span>Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>LeBron James<\/span><\/a>, concerns began to emerge over his one-way playing style and true fit within the lineup. Some <\/span>insiders<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>fans<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>former players<\/span><\/a> have recently pushed for Hachimura to head to the bench, a desire that Redick has finally fulfilled with this decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dec
Dec 4, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) shoots the game winning basket at the buzzer past Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) in the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With Hachimura sidelined, two-way wing <\/span>Jake LaRavia<\/span><\/a> has answered the call tremendously, immensely helping his case to <\/span>become a permanent starter<\/span><\/a> going forward. Since entering the first unit for Hachimura on Dec. 30, LaRavia has <\/span>averaged<\/span><\/a> 15.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He\u2019s done so on remarkably efficient shooting splits, going 53% from the field, 40% from deep and 81% from the free-throw line. Expect LaRavia\u2019s strong play to continue going forward, balancing the Lakers\u2019 offensive-minded starting lineup<\/a> with toughness and intensity on the defensive end of the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hachimura Provides Update on his Health<\/b><\/h3>\n

In his <\/span>post-practice remarks<\/span><\/a> to the media, Hachimura confirmed that he\u2019s all set to come back at some point this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine. I think it\u2019s been two weeks almost, so my calf is healed. We\u2019ve been practicing, they were gone for a little bit so I was practicing here with the G League and trying to be healthy and get better and I feel good about it tomorrow.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite being on an expiring contract this season, <\/span>Hachimura<\/span><\/a> remains committed to his role with the purple and gold:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think [at the] end of the day, I\u2019m trying to help this team to win. That\u2019s the whole purpose of being here. I\u2019ve been here for three, four seasons now. I think I\u2019m one of the guys that\u2019s been [the] longest here, too. So I\u2019m happy to be here playing with these guys, the coaches, everybody, I love these guys. I think of course contract and stuff is coming up, but end of the day but I just try to focus on everyday, in the moment. \u2026 Second half is coming, too, so as a team and for me too we gotta ramp it up.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Lakers begin the week with another back-to-back, facing the Kings in Sacramento on Monday at 7 p.m. and the Hawks at home Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After missing six games due to a right calf strain, Lakers forward Rui Hachimura will return to action this week. But according to head coach JJ Redick, that comeback includes a catch. JJ Redick Grants Lakers Fans\u2019 Wishes for Rui Hachimura’s Return Redick Bringing Hachimura Off the Bench During his media availability following a Sunday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":172374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,3],"tags":[4556,49497,38,1133,1749],"class_list":["post-172369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-austin-reaves","tag-jake-laravia","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-rui-hachimura"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172369"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172382,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172369\/revisions\/172382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}