L.A. could've used forward Rui Hachimura, who missed his fourth straight game with an ankle sprain and has greatly improved his rebounding this season while shooting a very high percentage from 3-point range.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a big showdown coming up at home against the Denver Nuggets this weekend. The Nuggets received a major boost on Friday with Nikola Jokic making his return to the lineup after being out due to the birth of a new child.

Lakers starting forward Rui Hachimura has missed the team's last three games with a sprained ankle. There was perhaps some faint hope that he would be able to return for Thursday's game, but he will be out once again. In 10 games, Hachimura is averaging 12.7 points in 33.9 minutes a game while shooting 50% from 3-point range on 3.6 attempts a game.

Redick expects Hachimura will return to the starting unit when healthy, but the coaches will try to incorporate longer stretches on the court for rookie wing Dalton Knecht off the bench.

The starting forward and backup center, both nursing sprained ankles, miss their third and fourth straight games, respectively, and rookie Dalton Knecht makes his third consecutive start.

The amazing play of rookie Dalton Knecht will present the Lakers with a key lineup decision once Rui Hachimura recovers from a sprained ankle.

After missing the Lakers’ last four games due to injury, Rui Hachimura is set to make his return against the Nuggets on Saturday.

The Lakers’ rotation has been in flux due to injuries to several key players. Luckily, the team has announced one of them will return tomorrow against the Denver Nuggets.