Lakers Injury Report: Suns Sitting Top 4 Players Ahead Of LA Matchup

LA now has a shot at the West's sixth seed once again.

It sounds like your Los Angeles Lakers' night just got a lot less stressful.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, tonight's opposition, the Phoenix Suns, are going to rest their four best players against LA. 

This decision makes sense, as the Suns just played last night. In that Thursday game, the Suns just clinched the Western Conference's fourth seed, beating a Denver Nuggets team without stars Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray to secure a 45-35 record and their seventh consecutive win overall. The Suns have gone 8-0 with All-Star forward Kevin Durant available for their lineup. 

According to Charania, the Suns will now sit Durant, All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker (who would be in the running for an All-NBA team had he, like Durant, missed a zillion games this year), aging point guard Chris Paul, and starting center Deandre Ayton.

The 41-39 Lakers are just a game behind the West's fifth and sixth seeds, the 42-38 Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are active tonight against a Sacramento Kings team still jockeying for the West's second seed, and will be without at least small forward Andrew Wiggins for the rest of their regular season, Steve Kerr announced on San Francisco radio station 95.7 The Game. There's a decent chance that Golden State loses. Should that happen, along with a likely Lakers win, LA would leapfrog Golden State to (at least temporarily) claim the conference's sixth seed with a game left to play.

The Lakers, meanwhile, could be missing their top three scorers -- LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D'Angelo Russell -- tonight. Los Angeles does have better depth (but less top-line talent) than Phoenix, but it would certainly help the team's cause to at least have two of its three best offensive players available.

Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!