Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports: Mavericks forward Michael Finley could be returning to the lineup as early as Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

This is because the Mavericks may have found the source of Finley's problems with his left hamstring.

An exam Monday revealed some minor alignment problems in the hip area might have aggravated the hamstring.

Afterwards, Finley had some therapy done and could return as early as Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers with Saturday against the Orlando Magic a more likely return date.

"Mike is going to work out [Wednesday]," coach Don Nelson said. "I don't know if we'll have enough players to scrimmage against him, but we'll have some out there.

"He'll have one of his first practices," Nelson said. "He'll probably need more than one before he plays. This will be the start, and we will go from there."