If the Los Angeles Lakers were a video game, they'd be Fortnite. Start with a lot of players, then winnow it down until there's only one left. That one player is Austin Reaves, who is going to attempt to take on the Denver Nuggets single-handedly on Friday night.
It may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn't far from the truth. LeBron James and Rui Hachimura continue to miss time. Jaxson Hayes is about to miss his fourth straight game, and Dorian Finney-Smith will again be out after returning from a one-game absence against the Bucks. Gabe Vincent and Luka Dončić are new injury report additions. Reaves might need to match Kobe Bryant's 81 points to give L.A. a chance against Nikola Jokic and company.
The Nuggets are favored by 15.5 points according to Vegas, which is a spread typically reserved for a Thunder-Wizards matchup in OKC. It's a difficult spot to be in for the Lakers, who have already lost three straight and desperately need to get healthy before they can begin winning games again.
Meanwhile, the rest of the West is gearing up to pass L.A. by. The Nuggets and Grizzlies are already a game up. The Rockets are tied with the Lakers for the fourth seed. Even the Warriors and Timberwolves are within range at 3 and 3.5 games back respectively thanks to their matching six-game winning streaks.
If the Lakers want to avoid the play-in game, they need to rub some dirt in it and get back on the court. Lakers fans are panicking, but which players should have them the most worried? Let's rank every player that is set to miss tonight's game.
6. Gabe Vincent
Of the six players on our list, Vincent is the least essential to what the Lakers do, but he's still important. He came up clutch in the overtime win over the New York Knicks last week with three late three-pointers, and he nearly helped the Lakers steal the game against the Nets on Monday with a team-high 24.
Vincent has been very durable this year, playing in 56 out of 64 games. It feels like the Lakers know that they don't have a chance against the Nuggets due to everyone else being injured, so they're giving Vincent's knee a rest rather than overtaxing him. Lakers fans shouldn't be worried about his status going forward.
5. Dorian Finney-Smith
The NBA is a star's league. Everybody other than the Chicago Bulls knows that in order to compete, you need an elite player or two. The Lakers have two of them in LeBron James and Luka Dončić, and another that isn't far off in Austin Reaves.
As vital as stars are, the very best teams also have unsung heroes that are essential to winning. Dorian Finney-Smith may be the most unsung and the most essential of these players, and the numbers back it up. Nobody on the Lakers has a better plus/minus than Finney-Smith, and he didn't arrive until after Christmas.
Finney-Smith is the platonic ideal of a 3-and-D wing. It's no coincidence that when he arrived, the Lakers almost instantly began playing elite defense, and before he was there, they were a sieve.
The Lakers absolutely can not afford to lose Finney-Smith, but it doesn't seem like his injury is serious. Tonight is the second game of a back-to-back, and he did play 30 minutes against the Bucks last night. A rest day makes perfect sense. If he misses another game after this, then it may be time to worry, but the bet here is that he'll be back against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
4. Jaxson Hayes
Jaxson Hayes' knee injury has been characterized as a contusion, which is fancy medical speak for a bruise. That doesn't sound like something to worry about, but Friday's absence will make four straight for him.
Hayes has stepped up in a big way since Anthony Davis was traded away. He's greatly improved his rim protection, while at the same time syncing up with Dončić for a very effective high-low lob combo.
The Lakers tried to trade for Mark Williams because they recognized what a gaping hole they had at center without AD. The conspiracy theorists have been working overtime with why exactly the team failed Williams on his physical when he seems to be healthy. Here's an idea for the tinfoil hat crowd: maybe it's because the Lakers realized that Hayes was ready to make a leap?
Without Hayes, the Lakers are so overmatched down low that no matter how brilliant James, Dončić, and Reaves are, it's going to be really difficult to overcome, especially in a seven-game series. The Lakers can't afford to rush him back, but they can't afford to be without him either.
3. Rui Hachimura
Of all the banged up Lakers, nobody has been out for longer than Rui Hachimura. Just like Hayes, Rui has stepped up since Davis was traded away. He's not a star, but he's the definition of a solid player. With stars surrounding him, he's exactly what you want as your fourth or fifth guy.
Hachimura is dealing with patellar tendinopathy in his knee. I'm no doctor, but that doesn't sound like a good time. Lakers fans knew that he was ruled out for this road trip, but luckily it sounds like he's ready to return soon, as like Hayes, he's considered day-to-day.
Hachimura is essential as a floor spacer and a big body that can help the Lakers remain respectable in the rebounding department, and his return will instantly make them more competitive.
The worry here is that the treatment for patellar tendinopathy is basically just to rest it and ice the knee. No surgery, no nothing. So what's to say this won't come back in a week or two, or worse yet, in the playoffs? Lakers fans will be holding their collective breath until the season is over.
2. Luka Dončić
The Lakers are going nowhere without Dončić, that much is sure. He's going to miss tonight's game to manage his calf, a development that comes as a surprise since he's played big minutes since making his Lakers debut.
Dončić missed more than a month of playing time after straining his calf on Christmas. Nobody knew it at the time, but that was the last time he would ever put on a Mavericks uniform. He didn't debut with the Lakers immediately after being acquired in early February, instead waiting a few games to make sure his leg was right.
Dončić has ramped up since those first few games in purple and gold. He's averaging 38 minutes per game this month, and he just dropped 45 points on the Bucks last night in 36 minutes. Did he strain his calf again, or is this just a smart rest day on the second leg of a back-to-back?
My theory is that the Lakers are holding Dončić out to save him from himself. Just as I said that Austin Reaves might need to put up 81 points to beat the Nuggets, I have no doubt that Dončić would try to break Wilt Chamberlain's record if he was surrounded by the B-team tonight. Especially after handling such a huge workload last night, this is a smart move to ensure his health going forward.
Dončić is so high on this list for two reasons. One is that if he does reinjure his calf, the Lakers are dead meat. The other is that calf injuries are notoriously hard to shake, so there'll always be a worry that he could aggravate it again.
1. LeBron James
The Lakers may be Dončić's team someday soon, but for now, LeBron James is still the King. What he's doing in his 22nd season is so ridiculous that ridiculous doesn't begin to describe it.
It feels like every night James is flirting with a triple-double while scoring 25 or more. His defense has been a genuine asset for two months. You can tell that he knows this team has a real chance to make a run, and he's giving it everything he's got in pursuit of his fifth championship.
James is incredible, but he's also 40 years old. That's not an age where athletes tend to bounce back quickly, and we've seen that in recent years as his normally indestructible body has caused him to miss more and more time.
The Lakers are saying all the right things as James recovers from his groin injury, but privately they have to be worried about his ability to make it to the finish line. Like Dončić's calf, this is another injury that doesn't go away easily.
The Lakers have to pivot their thinking from chasing the 2-seed to chasing full health instead. If that means they end up seventh and have to get through the play-in game, so be it. If Dončić, James and everyone else aren't able to be on the court in the postseason, nothing else matters. Let's just hope that Reaves doesn't hurt himself trying to do too much tonight.