The Los Angeles Lakers have been severely shorthanded to begin the 2025-26 NBA season. Head coach JJ Redick went into the season knowing that LeBron James, Maxi Kleber and Adou Thiero would be out, but in just four games the Lakers have also lost Luka Doncic for at least one week, Gabe Vincent for at least 2-4 weeks, as well as Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart.
The Lakers lost to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night despite 41 points from Austin Reaves with Bronny James, Nick Smith Jr. and Dalton Knecht making up the team’s lone bench contributors. L.A. desperately needs reinforcements before their nationally-televised rematch with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Doncic, James, Kleber, Vincent and Thiero are all certainly going to be out for that game. But Hayes and Smart are yet to receive a specific designation, and Redick believes they may be able to re-enter the rotation.
“Hopeful, hopeful on Jaxson [Hayes], hopeful on Marcus [Smart]. Hopeful, but we’ll see,” Redick said on Monday night.
The Lakers would have a very difficult time beating the Timberwolves — even as they play without superstar Anthony Edwards — if both Smart and Hayes can’t go. Having an eight-man rotation that includes just one center and three young guards off the bench is not a winning formula by any means.
Hayes gives the Lakers a backup center to go to instead of having Rui Hachimura play significant minutes against Rudy Gobert, while Smart provides some defense against the backcourt of Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo.
Their statuses likely won’t be revealed until closer to game time. But regardless, the Lakers will need another big night from Reaves if they want to move to 3-2 without their two stars and a host of depth pieces.
Lakers’ Doncic not expected to miss more than one week
Luka Doncic began the 2025-26 season on a tear, scoring over 40 points in the first two games and leading the Lakers to their first win when they blew out the Timberwolves.
Doncic was brilliant in the win against the Timberwolves, dropping a near-triple-double of 49 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. The offseason strength and conditioning is already paying dividends for Doncic who looks much quicker and explosive on the floor compared to last season.
While Doncic has been everything Los Angeles hoped for, the team was dealt a blow when it was announced he would miss the game against the Sacramento Kings with a finger and knee injury. Doncic hurt himself against Minnesota, and while he was able to finish the game it appears the medical staff wants to be careful with the superstar.
Doncic will be re-evaluated in one week, though the current expectation is he won’t need any more time beyond that to recover.
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