After a blowout win against the Nuggets' bench on Wednesday, the Lakers are set to defend home court tonight (against the Bucks) for their fourth game in five nights. Unfortunately for Lakers fans, they shouldn't expect much tonight after the team's latest injury report revealed a long list of absences.
Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Maxi Kleber, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura have been declared out for the game while Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt are listed as doubtful.
The available players tonight include Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, Jordan Goodwin, Trey Jemison III, Christian Koloko, Shake Milton, Markieff Morris, Bronny James, Alex Len, and Cam Reddish. That's just one starter and three two-way players.
The Lakers haven't been fully healthy for weeks but they were staying afloat thanks to standout performances from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Without most of their starters and four of their top-five best players, the Lakers will be featuring their second and third-string players tonight in what will almost surely result in a loss.
On X, Lakers fans were outraged at the news and many of them were shocked that the team needed an extra day off after cruising to victory against the shorthanded Nuggets.
"Apparently beating the backups for the Nuggets just drains the team's energy," wrote one fan on X.
There were some fans who defended the move and said that it was worth it for the Lakers to concede this game in order to preserve the health and integrity of the players.
"They need it. Stop acting like we have to win every single game. Being healthy is what we need," a fan posted on X.
With LeBron James (40) and Rui Hachimura on the mend, fans thought the Lakers would be getting healthier but it seems to be going the other way.
"Lmao we expected some people back and got everybody out instead," wrote a disgruntled Lakers fan.
If there's anything to be excited about for the Lakers game tonight, it's Bronny James, who will have exciting new opportunities with so much of the rotation out.
"Brother you forgot, we have Bronny," wrote an optimistic Lakers fan.
Luka Doncic is still nursing a left ankle sprain but he looked pretty good against the Nuggets on Wednesday with 31 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on 47.6% shooting. Whether it's load management or a precautionary measure, Doncic will be on the bench tonight but it's not expected to be a long-term assignment.
The situation is different for LeBron James, who hasn't been seen since a loss to the Celtics on March 8. Mid-way through the fourth quarter, LeBron suffered a groin injury that he's been dealing with ever since. Nobody knows for sure when the King will return but the word on the street is that he's on the verge of a full recovery as he finishes his treatment in Los Angeles.
In the case of Austin Reaves, he's been declared out with a right ankle sprain. He looked healthy in yesterday's game against Denver (22 points, five rebounds, eight assists) but he's been dealing with a nagging ankle injury all season that caused him to miss a slate of games in early March. It seems the Lakers believe he still needs more time to recover.
Without the "big three," the Lakers will have to rely on their role-players to get the job done but to say that faith is lacking would be an understatement. In the eyes of the fans, JJ Redick has essentially forfeited this game in an effort to protect his team from a particularly brutal stretch of the schedule.
At 43-25, the Lakers are already a lock for a top-six seed but they can finish as high as second depending on how they play in the final few weeks of this season.
