Six straight wins at home and a leap to the second seed in the West—the Lakers looked unstoppable until last weekend. Then tragedy struck. LeBron James injured his groin in the first game of the road trip and the LA team has not won since. As a result, they have fallen to the fourth seed. And it looks like the Lakers’ misery is going to continue, as they dropped an unfortunate update about Luka Doncic’s health ahead of tonight’s Nuggets clash.

The 5x All-Star will not suit up for the back-to-back encounter after dropping a 45-point double-double last night against the Bucks. Reason? Left calf injury management and right ankle sprain—issues that have been bothering the Slovenian star since he first got injured on Christmas Day. Obviously, this is a massive blow to the team because with LeBron out for this road trip, Doncic was expected to be the primary scorer. Now, his unavailability leaves a massive void in their offense.

The last time Luka visited Denver, he went off for 32 points and ten rebounds to lead his team to a blowout victory. Lakers won’t have that firepower tonight. Adding to the concerns, Doncic’s absence is just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, the usuals—LeBron James, Jaxson Hayes, Rui Hachimura, and Maxi Kleber continue to remain sidelined due to injury.

But we have new faces. Three, to be exact. Initially questionable due to an illness, Trey Jemison III has now been ruled out. Meanwhile, Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle injury management) and Gabe Vincent (left knee injury management), have both been downgraded from doubtful to out.

Unsurprisingly, these updates leave the LA team extremely shorthanded for tonight.

JJ Redick reveals strategy in Luka Doncic and LeBron James’ absence as Bronny James gets called up from G League

With eight key players out, including multiple regular starters, the big question is: who will play against the Nuggets? The answer is EVERYONE ELSE! Turns out, JJ Redick plans on playing every Laker in uniform tonight, as per veteran insider Dave McMenamin. While it’s not official yet, the starting lineup is likely to include—Austin Reaves, Jordan Goodwin, Dalton Knecht, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Christian Koloko.

Meanwhile, Alex Len, Shake Milton, Cam Reddish and Markieff Morris are likely to come off the bench. One silver lining about the lengthy injury report is that fans could get a rare Bronny James sighting on the court. Yes, the rookie is back with the team after his brief stint in the G League, and could get some meaningful minutes because of the team’s lack of depth. The last time he suited up in Purple and Gold was against the Pelicans earlier this month.

Although a win against Nikola Jokić and Co. seems unlikely without LeBron and Luka, stranger things have happened in the NBA. So, Redick will give his best effort with the lineup that is available. Do you think the Lakers can pull off a miracle and snap their three-game losing streak despite their injury woes?