The Los Angeles Lakers are about to find out just how deep their roster actually goes. The team announced Monday that both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will sit out against the Portland Trail Blazers, putting enormous pressure on the reserves to step up in what suddenly looks like a significantly more challenging road game. After both stars logged nearly 40 minutes each in Sunday’s 130-120 victory over the Miami Heat before catching a late-night flight to Portland, the decision to rest them makes sense from a load management perspective—even if it creates immediate roster complications.
Doncic appears on the injury report with lower left leg contusion management, the same issue that forced him to miss three games last week. The fact that he’s dealing with this again suggests the Lakers are being appropriately cautious with their franchise cornerstone, prioritizing long-term health over a single regular season game in early November. Reaves, who hadn’t missed a game yet this season, is listed with right groin soreness, marking his first absence of the campaign and raising questions about whether this is a minor issue or something that could linger.
The absence of both stars would be challenging enough on its own, but the Lakers’ injury situation extends well beyond just Doncic and Reaves. LeBron James remains sidelined with right sciatica, Gabe Vincent is out with a left ankle sprain, and Adou Thiero continues recovering from left knee surgery. That’s a significant chunk of the roster unavailable for a road game against a quality opponent.
The frontcourt situation is equally concerning
Starting center Deandre Ayton is questionable to play after missing the entire second half of the Memphis victory on Friday and all of Sunday’s Heat game because of back spasms. Back injuries can be notoriously tricky, especially for seven-footers who carry the physical burden of playing center in the NBA. Whether Ayton can give it a go remains uncertain, but even if he does suit up, there are legitimate questions about how effective he’ll be while still dealing with the issue.
Backup big man Maxi Kleber is also questionable to make his season debut in Portland after being sidelined with an abdominal muscle strain. The Lakers could desperately use his size and shooting ability, particularly if Ayton can’t play or is limited. Kleber’s potential return represents a small bit of good news in what’s otherwise a pretty bleak injury report, though counting on a player making his season debut to save the day seems like wishful thinking.
The timing of all these absences couldn’t be worse given Portland’s strong start to the season. The Trail Blazers sit at 4-2 and currently hold the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference standings. More importantly, they’ve already beaten the Lakers once this season, representing one of only two losses Los Angeles has suffered through seven games. Portland knows they can compete with this Lakers team, and now they get to face a severely depleted version on their home court.
The stars have been carrying this team
The Lakers’ 5-2 start and third-best record in the Western Conference has been built almost entirely on the backs of Doncic and Reaves. Their production has been nothing short of spectacular through the early portion of the season, with both players operating at near-MVP levels and carrying offensive loads that would exhaust most players.
Doncic is averaging an absurd 41.3 points on 54.5 percent shooting to go along with 11.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists. Those numbers represent elite performance across every relevant statistical category, the kind of production that typically wins MVP awards and carries teams deep into the playoffs. He’s been the offensive engine that makes everything work for Los Angeles, creating shots for himself and others while dominating possessions in ways few players in NBA history have managed.
Reaves isn’t far behind, posting 31.1 points on 48.9 percent shooting with 9.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds. That’s All-Star caliber production from someone who wasn’t even a guaranteed rotation player a few years ago. His emergence as Doncic’s running mate has given the Lakers exactly the kind of second star they needed, creating a dynamic duo that can hang with any backcourt in the league.
What this means for Monday night
Without those two offensive juggernauts, the Lakers will need to cobble together production from role players who’ve mostly been asked to play supporting roles all season. Someone needs to step up and create offense, whether that’s D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, or whoever coach JJ Redick decides to lean on. The problem is that none of those players have shown they can consistently carry an offense the way Doncic and Reaves have been doing.
Portland will smell blood in the water. They already know they can beat this Lakers team at full strength, so facing a version without its two best players should feel like an opportunity to make a statement. The Trail Blazers are playing well right now, riding their own strong start and probably feeling pretty confident about their chances in this matchup.
For the Lakers, this becomes a character game—the kind of contest that reveals depth and resilience or exposes exactly how dependent they are on their stars. Stealing a win in Portland without Doncic and Reaves would be impressive. Losing badly would confirm what many suspect: this team goes as far as its two best players can carry them, and right now those players are sitting on the bench in street clothes.
