3 Lakers Starters Could Miss Battle of LA vs Clippers

Nov 25, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) drives past Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers could be missing as many as three of head coach JJ Redick's preferred starting five players heading into their Saturday clash against their crosstown rivals, the LA Clippers.

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Per Jovan Buha of "Buha's Block," starting shooting guard Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and starting center Deandre Ayton (sore left elbow) have already been ruled out. Reserve guard Gabe Vincent, too, remains shelved with a sore low back.

Starting power forward Rui Hachimura has seen his status downgraded to questionable due to a sore right groin.

Lakers’ injury report vs. the Clippers: pic.twitter.com/159a6UayJT

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) December 20, 2025

Reserve point guard Bronny James Jr., son of 21-time All-NBA Los Angeles power forward LeBron James, is putting in reps with the Lakers' G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.

Los Angeles has won its last two bouts in a row and seven of its last 10 contests. Powered mostly by the MVP-caliber offense of five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic and the All-Star contributions of Reaves and, lately, James, the Lakers have gone 19-7 on the year.

Los Angeles is currently the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.

The Clippers' Brutal Start

The Clippers, meanwhile, have fully regressed back to their pre-Steve Ballmer ways. Thanks to a five-game losing skid, the Clippers are now 6-21, and just 0.5 games ahead of the 6-22 New Orleans Pelicans (winners of three straight) for the bottom seed in the conference.

Lawrence Frank has no one to blame but himself for this bizarrely mismatched, absolutely ancient roster. 34-year-old former six-time All-NBA small forward Kawhi Leonard and 36-year-old 11-time All-Star point guard James Harden both remain pretty stellar on offense, but neither is much of a threat on the other end anymore. But they're not the problem, among the old guys.

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Frank compounded his issues by bringing aboard 40-year-old former All-Star point guard Chris Paul (whom he has since banished from the team for... trying to hold everyone accountable, apparently), 37-year-old former All-Star center Brook Lopez (who's already out of head coach Tyronn Lue's rotation), 32-year-old former All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal (who's out for the year with a hip tear), and re-signing 36-year-old combo forward Nicolas Batum. 32-year-old Bogdan Bogdanovic also looks over the hill.

Beyond LeBron James and Marcus Smart, the rest of the Lakers' top eight players are all still in or approaching their primes.

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.