INGLEWOOD — Shortly into the Clippers’ preseason opener on Sunday, point guard Darius Garland found Rui Hachimura with a pinpoint pass that the newly acquired forward took and pulled up for a 3-point shot.
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Garland found Hachimura again 42 seconds later, this time resulting in a running dunk. The two connected on two more seamless passes in the Clippers’ 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors. The plays were instinctive and automatic – chemistry developed over the course of just a few weeks.
“We’ve been working together a lot during that week,” Garland said after Wednesday’s practice. “We’re in training camp, so it was good to finally put it to use though, put it to work against somebody else.”
Before the Clippers signed Hachimura to a two-year, $28 million free agent contract, Garland had already done his homework on the former Laker.
Before the team gathered for unofficial workouts, Garland knew Hachimura was an elite 3-point shooter with an efficient mid-range jumper, a power forward who can exploit mismatches with his 6-foot-8, 230-pound body.
“Yeah, we already knew what type of talent Rui is,” Garland said. “So, just trying to figure out his spots, but the Golden State game was definitely a little sample size of what we can do.”
Hachimura averaged 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 28.3 minutes over 68 games (41 starts) with the Lakers last season. He shot 51.4% (307 for 597) from the field and 44.3% (116 for 262) from 3-point range, which was the fifth-best mark in the NBA.
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UNEXPECTED TALENT
Garland, 26, has seen plenty of rookies in his eight seasons in the NBA. This season, two have impressed him – Keaton Wagler and Baba Miller. Most know about Wagler: the No. 5 overall draft pick out of Illinois, where he was a two-time consensus second-team All-American. Miller, however, is more of an enigma.
Miller is a 6-11 forward from Spain who bounced around the college game, playing at Florida State and Florida Atlantic before finishing at Cincinnati. His soft outside shooting touch is notable, but he can do much more on the court.
“Just his athletic ability, him stretching the floor, him switching one through five (defensively), just him being himself really communicating, blocking shots, rebounding the ball,” Garland said. “I think he’s got a lot of people kind of hyped and surprised a little bit. Not surprised, but pretty excited.”
NOTES
Injured players Brandon Ingram (Achilles), Kobe Sanders (hip impingement), Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot surgery) and Bradley Beal (knee inflammation) all continue doing individual player development work during their recovery, according to the team. Beal was on the court Wednesday but did not participate in drills. Sanders is day-to-day while Niederhauser and Ingram are out for the start of the season. …
The Clippers filled their open training camp spot with Jahmyl Telfort, who landed the last two-way contract last season. The team waived Fletcher Loyer on Tuesday.
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