Lakers Injury Report: Another Key Suns Player Will Sit Out Tonight's LA Game

The Suns really, really don't care about this game.

Your Los Angeles Lakers are being gifted tonight's game, for all intents and purposes.

After the news came out that tonight's opponents, the 45-35 Phoenix Suns (locked into their conference's fourth seed), will be without their four best and priciest players, it certainly seemed like your Los Angeles Lakers had been absolutely gifted with an automatic victory in Crypto.com Arena. 

Phoenix All-Stars Kevin Durant (left ankle injury management) and Devin Booker (rest) will also sit out tonight's game, which will be the Suns' second bout of a back-to-back set. Pricey starters Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton will also be rested, with no injury divulged.

Now, it appears that the Suns will be missing another injury-prone key role player tonight.

Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, reserve Phoenix forward T.J. Warren will miss the matchup against Los Angeles tonight due to a non-COVID-19 illness. The 6'8" combo forward has had a modest role for Phoenix since being shipped there from the Brooklyn Nets, along with Durant, at this season's trade deadline. Across 16 games, Warren is averaging 4.2 points on .429/.316/.500 shooting splits and 3.1 boards.

Minus Durant, Booker, Paul Ayton and now Warren, this game becomes as close to an automatic win as you can get. And the Lakers need a win especially if they're hoping to avoid the play-in tournament bracket and sneak into the bottom of the playoff rung of teams (the West's top six). An LA loss and a Warriors win this evening would doom the Lakers to their conference's play-in bracket and two extra games. The aging and injured Lakers need all the rest they can get. A week off would be just what the doctor ordered.

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