Is Rui Hachimura playing tonight against Utah Jazz? Latest Injury update on Lakers forward ahead of Emirates NBA Cup (Nov. 19)   

Rui Hachimura has perhaps had his best career start as an LA Laker under new head coach JJ Redick. The forward is fourth in scoring and third in rebounds for Los Angeles this season. Hachimura has also played the most minutes alongside starting unit LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves. The numbers in his 10 games are a sharp contrast to what he propped up last season and show how vital the power forward is in the Purple and Gold's lineup.

It's an absolute blow for LA as Hachimura's latest injury update doesn't sound promising ahead of their NBA Cup opener against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday (Nov. 19).

The NBA's latest injury report lists him as questionable with a left ankle sprain. He has missed two games for the side and did not practice on Monday. The Lakers host the Orlando Magic and the Denver Nuggets later this week and the LA camp hopes that he will suit up for at least one of the games starting with Utah.

Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin:

"JJ Redick said Rui Hachimura (right ankle) did not practice Monday. He is listed as questionable for tomorrow. Redick said the Lakers hope Hachimura will play at some point this week."

Despite the scoring numbers that have dipped in a game or two, Rui Hachimura's shot-making has seen significant improvement as he's connecting 50.0% of his 3s and 42.1% from the field. It remains to be seen if Hachimura will suit up on Tuesday.

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Rui Hachimura stressed the need to stay focused amid Lakers' impressive start

At the time of writing, the LA Lakers are the No. 3 seed in the West with a 9-4 record. They began their season 3-0 before slumping on the road. They headed home with a dismal 1-4 record, but have been clinical since winning five games on the bounce. Earlier, Rui Hachimura had spoken about the side's approach to the season last year, and how things have been different under Redick's new leadership.

“Just the lineup, everything, injuries and all that. We didn’t have kind of the mindset of OK, let’s take No. 1 in the West. We didn’t have that mindset, but this year I think we have that since we started training camp. I think we know that we have to be good and we just think about the playoffs. It’s the long run, but you just got to kind of think about how we want to beat all of these other teams. So I think each game is gonna be important for us."

The Lakers will hope Hachimura returns to the lineup as early as this week as they face stern tests against the Magic and Nikola Jokic's Nuggets — a team that has been their kryptonite for the last two seasons.