Rui Hachimura out, LeBron James and Luka Dončić available vs. Clippers

The Lakers will be undermanned on Friday against the Clippers with Rui Hachimura but the rest of the Lakers, including LeBron James and Luka Dončić, will play.

UPDATE: All three of Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Jaxson Hayes have been upgraded to available for tonight’s game.

Original story follows.

The Lakers will be shorthanded in Friday’s second night of a back-to-back against the Clippers, but just how much remains to be seen.

Rui Hachimura, who exited Thursday’s game with a left knee strain, has already been ruled out. Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Jaxson Hayes are all listed as questionable.

Luka has not played in back-to-backs so far since returning from injury. However, head coach JJ Redick said recently that Luka would not have restrictions moving forward.

Late in Thursday’s win over the Wolves, LeBron looked to have tweaked his hamstring. He finished the game without issue and postgame said it would not be a problem. Accordingly, he’s not listed on the report for anything related to his hamstring but for the foot injury that kept him out of the All-Star game.

Hayes took a nasty fall in the second half against the Wolves. Initially, he checked out of the game and went to the locker room, but he eventually returned and helped close out the win.

Notably, Jarred Vanderbilt is not listed on the injury report. He, too, had not been playing in back-to-backs since returning from injury. This will be the first he’s played in over a year.

For the Clippers, only Norman Powell is listed on the injury report as he’s listed as questionable with a knee injury.

The Lakers play the Clippers twice in the next three days with the two sides meeting again at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

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