The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up to play the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs and it's looking all but certain that they'll have to do it without their two best scorers. 

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, injured within days of each other with just a few games left in the season, will likely not appear in the Lakers' first round series. Lakers head coach JJ Redick already confirmed that they will definitively miss game one and a report indicates that it's doubtful they play against Houston at all.

That leaves the Lakers in a very precarious position. LeBron James has been quick to take up the burden as the first option for the team, something that he's done countless times throughout his career, but he's not the only one who needs to take on a larger load. 

Rui Hachimura has been in an uncertain place with the Lakers this season. He began the year as the Lakers' starting power forward and started off the year with respectable production, but struggles throughout the year have seen him relegated to the bench at times. 

Now, the Lakers truly need Hachimura to get back to his old self. Hachimura said that he's spoken with the Lakers coaching staff about the playoffs and they've said as much to him.

"Especially [without] Luka [Doncic] and Austin [Reaves], we need more shooting," Hachimura said (via The Sporting Tribune). "I've got to be more aggressive. On both ends, but especially the offensive... Everybody wants me to be aggressive on that side. Of course, I have other jobs too, but... it's going to be a little different for me."

Even when he was at his most productive, Hachimura was never looked to as the guy to score for the Lakers this season, or even really as the second option. This will be new territory for him and a chance for him to prove himself and it comes at a time when the Lakers are at their most desperate.

Hachimura is steady enough on the inside glass, but his real strength has been his three point shooting. He's shooting 44.3% from beyond the arc this season with just under four three point attempts per game. 

Pairing his skills with that of Luke Kennard while LeBron James holds down the interior can at least recreate a portion of the production that they'll be missing without Doncic and Reaves. 

It's not a situation that Hachimura or the Lakers expected themselves to be in this season, but it's where they're at. Hachimura knows that and he's not backing down.