Rui Hachimura: Lakers Make Me Feel 'Confident and Comfortable' After Dominant Game 1

Spending the first three-and-a-half seasons of his career with the Washington Wizards, Rui Hachimura didn't get to play in a whole lot of high-stakes postseason games.

But no one inside FedExForum in Memphis could tell based off the 25-year-old's performance in the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff opening win against the Memphis Grizzlies. Hachimura was one of Los Angeles' best performers, something not a whole lot of people would've predicted going into Game 1.

Coming off the bench, he dropped a team-high 29 points to go along with six rebounds on 11-of-14 shooting from the field.

With his relative inexperience in the playoffs, Hachimura credited the organization's coaching staff with instilling confidence in him since he arrived on Jan. 23.

"Since I got here, this team really believes in me … [it makes me] very confident and comfortable," he said postgame.

One of the main people Hachimura gave a shoutout to was longtime Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy, who spent a lot of time with him watching film and telling the former lottery pick what kind of shots he should be taking.

It didn't matter what kind of shot Hachimura took Sunday afternoon, as he was making just about everything in Los Angeles' 128-112 win. He made five of his six shots from beyond the arc as well as both of his attempts from the free-throw line.

Although he had a role similar to the one he was used in with the Wizards, Hachimura saw a bit of a dip in some of his averages after being traded. His scoring went from 13.0 points per game to 9.6, and his three-point shooting went from 33.7 percent to 29.6.

So, Sunday's performance was hopefully a sign of things to come for the rest of the team's postseason run.

Hachimura wasn't the only unlikely hero for the Lakers, however. Austin Reaves was extremely impressive in his playoff debut, scoring 23 points and racking up four assists.