The Los Angeles Lakers found a lot of success with Rui Hachimura defending Nikola Jokic in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. With this tactic in place, the Lakers mounted an impressive comeback attempt, only to fall short and lose the series opener, 132-126. Nevertheless, given how effective the Hachimura-Jokic matchup was for LA, a lot of folks believed that coach Darvin Ham was going to insert Hachimura into the starting five in Game 2.

According to reports, the Lakers are indeed making a major lineup change for Thursday's clash. It's just not the one most fans have been expecting. Instead of Hachimura, Coach Ham has decided to call on Jarred Vanderbilt to get the start against the Nuggets in Game 2:

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It's Dennis Schroder who's going to be relegated to the bench now that Vanderbilt is set to reclaim his spot in the starting five. Schroder got the start over Vando in the Lakers' Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors. Schroder started in Game 1 against the Nuggets again, but Coach Ham has now decided to revert to his original starting lineup.

As for Rui Hachimura, the 6-foot-8 power forward is still expected to figure significantly in Game 2 despite not being able to crack the starting five. The Nuggets seem adamant that they have the necessary response in place to counter the Hachimura-Jokic matchup, but until they actually get to do it, you can be sure that the Lakers will be banging on that same drum on Thursday night.