The Los Angeles Lakers are set to play the Dallas Mavericks in a game that will be highlighted by the brutal injury updates to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
The two stars for the Lakers have been ruled out for the rest of the regular season with hamstring and oblique injuries, respectively, in what has been a difficult past few days for a team that was previously one of the hottest in the NBA over the past month.
Regardless, the Lake Show must go on, and before the game against the Mavericks, Los Angeles’ starting lineup and final injury report for Sunday was announced.
Lakers Starting Lineup Without Luka Doncic And Austin Reaves
GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 18: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Toyota Center on March 18, 2026 in Houston, Texas.
In the lead-up to the matchup, the Lakers took to social media to announce the starting lineup for the Easter game, a group that did not feature either Doncic or Reaves.
Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton were all named as starters before the game by head coach JJ Redick.
Normally, both Doncic and Reaves are in the starting lineup, but after the latest injury updates ruling them out for at least the rest of the regular season, they were not featured in that group on Sunday.
It will be tough sledding for the Lakers in the final stretch of the regular season, but a starting lineup something like this is what the team will be going with until their 2025-26 campaign ends, or they get at least one of their top-two scorers back from injury.
Lakers Injury Report
GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 18: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on March 18, 2026 in Houston, Texas.
Before the game, the Lakers also announced their final injury report for Sunday against the Mavericks.
Doncic and Reaves were both featured, as each suffered injuries against the Oklahoma City Thunder that have since sidelined them for the rest of the regular season, and potentially longer.
“Both those guys are going to try to come back. So it’s our job to extend the season so that they can come back” Redick said of the two stars, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Reaves is expected to miss four to six weeks, according to recent injury updates. Doncic does not have a return timeline, but per a recent report from The Athletic, his hamstring injury could keep him out for at least a month, with the high chance of re-injury if he comes back too early.
The Lakers have also ruled out Marcus Smart for the game. Redick had previously said that he thought the guard would be able to return, but that is not the case, and he remains sidelined with an ankle injury.
Despite those three making up Los Angeles’ injury report against Dallas, the good news is that Jarred Vanderbilt was upgraded from questionable to available for the game. He was dealing with calf soreness, but isn’t expected to miss any time.
The Lakers are 50-27 and third in the West after a stellar March. Responsibility will fall on James, the oldest player in the league to help the team win at least one playoff round without Doncic and Reaves, but regardless of who Los Angeles matches up with in the playoffs, that will be a tall task.
After what was one of the best stretches from any NBA team in March, the Lakers have gone from potential title contenders to a team that looks to be trying to just stay afloat, all in the past few days.
The game against Dallas will be the first true test to see how they respond without nearly 60 points per game in the form of Doncic and Reaves.
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