"Straight Talk" is a regular feature in which The Sporting Tribune's John E. Gibson offers a full translation of media availability with Dodgers Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. He will also help translate when Lakers star Rui Hachimura and LA Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida are asked questions in Japanese.
The job of interpreters in the heat of the moment is difficult without the ability to write down questions and answers and re-hear responses for proper context. That's where John comes in to help. John currently works as a Japanese-English interpreter and covered pro baseball in Japan for about 20 years. His experience as a sports reporter includes stints at The Orange County Register, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Redlands Daily Facts, The Yomiuri Shimbun’s English newspaper in Tokyo and The Epoch Times.
HOUSTON – Rui Hachimura drilled 5 of 7 3-pointes and dropped 21 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers take out the host Houston Rockets 98-78 in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series on Friday night. Hachimura also added six boards and was a plus-20 in his 35 minutes on the floor.
Q: Good game. Today you hit five 3-pointers, tying your playoff career high, you obviously hit five in a game in the past. In terms of this year – in particular, with the confidence or skill-wise – are you feeling something different?
Hachimura: Well, when you get to the playoffs, shooting becomes very important. And it gets increasingly physical, so I think the spaces grow smaller, and in that aspect, 3-pointers become even more important. On this team, I’m one of the shooters along with Luke (Kennard), and the coaches have been telling us to take more of these shots. So, with that in mind, I’m just glad the shots went down today.
Q: Good game. I know it’s the playoffs and your focus is on that, but your name has come up in among those for the Japan national (basketball) team, and I was just wondering if there has been any contact from the governing body yet, and with the NBA (schedule), all the activities in the offseason you would actually have to do – like playing in the Asian Tournament – how are you thinking about balance all that?
Hachimura: Well, not at all. I’m still really focusing on the playoffs, and I haven’t spoken with anyone from the JBA (Japan Basketball Association). I don’t know the status of anything, but maybe in the days before Round 2 starts against OKC (Oklahoma City), it would be nice to maybe speak with someone, if possible. But as of now, there have been conversations.