![\"JJ](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2255942337.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Lakers head coach JJ Redick during a game against the Charlotte Hornets in January 2026<\/p>\n
For much of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>\u2018 injury report has been crowded with key contributors, a major factor behind an inconsistent campaign to date.<\/p>\n That trend may finally be easing.<\/p>\n Ahead of an eight-game road trip that begins on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets<\/a>, the Lakers are set to travel with something they\u2019ve rarely enjoyed this season. Availability.<\/p>\n Outside of Austin Reaves<\/a> and rookie Adou Thiero<\/a>, who are both still sidelined with longer-term issues, Los Angeles expects the rest of its roster to be available.<\/p>\n A clean injury report for the Lakers in Denver on Tuesday \u2013 other than Reaves and Thiero <\/p>\n Lakers Finally See Injury Report Begin to Clear<\/p>\n The shift is notable given how turbulent the injury situation has been, with Rui Hachimura<\/a> and Gabe Vincent spending extended stretches on the injury report before recently returning.<\/p>\n LeBron James and Luka Doncic<\/a> have appeared sporadically throughout the season, while Saturday\u2019s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> saw the Lakers without both starting center DeAndre Ayton<\/a> and backup Jaxson Hayes.<\/p>\n That absence forced the sudden emergence of two-way big Drew Timme<\/a> and highlighted how thin the roster has been.<\/p>\n Los Angeles has lost nine of its past 15 games and managed just two wins over a recent seven-game stretch. Despite still sitting at 25-16 and sixth in the Western Conference, the broader trajectory has trended downwards, with the play-in picture beginning to loom.<\/p>\n The Lakers rank last in the NBA in bench scoring at 25.7 points per game and sit 25th in defensive rating<\/a> at 117.4. Against that backdrop, a clean injury report represents a rare opportunity to stabilise both rotations and roles.<\/p>\n The upcoming road trip offers a mix of opportunity and risk. Matchups against the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>, Chicago Bulls<\/a>, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets<\/a> present chances to stack wins.<\/p>\n However, the trip opens with difficult tests against an in-form Nuggets team and a surging Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and a struggling New York Knicks<\/a> add further uncertainty, as the margin for error continues to shrink.<\/p>\n Lakers Balancing Health Gains With Ongoing Concerns<\/p>\n While reports indicate<\/a> that general manager Rob Pelinka continues to explore the trade market ahead of the February 5 deadline, head coach JJ Redick<\/a> struck an optimistic tone following Sunday\u2019s 110-93 win over the Toronto Raptors<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re starting to get healthy, and hopefully we get [Austin Reaves] back soon,\u201d Redick said, via Lakers Nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reaves has been sidelined since late December with a grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain and is scheduled to be re-evaluated at the end of January. His return appears to be drawing closer, another potential boost for the rotation.<\/p>\n However, there remains ongoing concern<\/a> surrounding Doncic, who has openly acknowledged playing through lingering groin discomfort in recent weeks.<\/p>\n He missed Saturday\u2019s loss to Portland and appeared as questionable ahead of the Raptors game, but was ultimately cleared shortly before tip-off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s ok, not bad,\u201d Doncic said post-game. \u201cBut obviously I\u2019m gonna try to play through it.\u201d<\/p>\n For the Lakers, a clear injury slate is about more than roster balance. It\u2019s also critical to managing workload.<\/p>\n Doncic is averaging the fourth-highest minutes load in the NBA<\/a> at 36.3 per night, while James, now 41, continues to require careful load management.<\/p>\n As the road trip begins, health alone will not solve the Lakers\u2019 issues. But for a team searching for traction, having its core available offers the best possible starting point.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMatt Evans<\/a> is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Lakers head coach JJ Redick during a game against the Charlotte Hornets in January 2026 For much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-425939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}