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Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will miss Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers due to lumbar management, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Porter is expected to return to the floor for Friday's game against the Utah Jazz. 

Porter played only nine games last season due to back issues. His back also kept him out of his entire rookie season with the Nuggets, and typically, back injuries are among the hardest to treat in basketball. That makes caution the priority for the Nuggets as they attempt to make their way back into the championship hunt following their injury-riddled 2021-22 season.

Porter has played well for the Nuggets thus far this season, though his minutes have been carefully managed. He is averaging 18 points in 29 minutes per game for Denver while making half of his 3-pointers and shooting 51 percent from the field. Jamal Murray, who missed last season due to a torn ACL, also returned to the Nuggets this season, and the three-man combination of Murray, Porter and MVP Nikola Jokic gives the Nuggets one of the most dangerous offenses in basketball.

But on Wednesday, they'll have to lean a bit more heavily into their defense with Porter out. That defense has allowed over 121 points per 100 possessions this season, which should be a welcome sight for a Lakers team which has scored only 97.2. It will be a battle between the No. 28 defense and No. 30 offense in basketball Wednesday, so whichever unit can dig itself out of the basement will likely be the one that emerges victorious.