Rui Hachimura makes controlling demand after Lakers beat up Warriors, Kings -

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LOS ANGELES – Back towards the beginning of the season during one of Marcus Smart’s earliest media sessions as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, he revealed a saying he has for every game. That is, ‘the toughest team sets the rules.’ It essentially means the more physical team determines the way the game will go. The Lakers haven’t always done a good job in adhering to that quote, but Rui Hachimura believes it has gotten better in recent games.

The Lakers dominated from start to finish in back-to-back wins against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, respectively. A big part of those wins hinged on the Lakers coming out from the opening tip and asserting their will in terms of physicality. That’s playing tough defense, diving after loose balls, hitting the glass hard and little things that don’t always show up with stats.

“I think when we did that today in the game [against the Kings], the game [against the Warriors], I think we set the tone. That’s why we were able to control the whole game,” Hachimura said following the win against the Kings. “So I think that kind of stuff, we have to keep doing it. I think sometimes we kind of do it and then we stop doing it. So we just have to keep doing it. We have to make those plays and those small things. We have to keep building.”

Hachimura made his return to the Lakers’ lineup against the Kings after a brief, two-game absence due to an illness. He had a somewhat solid game, finishing with eight points while shooting 2-of-4 from the 3-point line in a little over 22 minutes.

He’s been coming off the bench since making his return from a calf injury back in mid January. Hachimura has appeared in 48 games, including 31 starts, at a little over 29 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 11.7 points and 3.4 rebounds with splits of 50.1 percent shooting from the field, 44.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 74.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

But the Lakers overall toughness and physicality starts with Smart. He often sets the tone on the defensive end of the court, and it’s a big reason why head coach JJ Redick has opted to remain with Smart in the starting lineup after Hachimura’s return.

After the win against the Kings, Redick made sure to single out Smart for his impact on the game.

“I told the team after, I thought Smart’s defense. . .just totally ignited us at different points in the game,” Redick said. “He ended up with five steals, but he’s diving on the floor for loose balls. He’s starting transition plays for us. He gets switched onto the five, completely stands him up. . .he was another igniter for us.”

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