Jan. 19, 2026, 7:32 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> start an eight-game road trip on Tuesday, and this trip could very well determine which direction the rest of the season will go in for them. They have lost 12 of their last 22 games, and after being in second place in the Western Conference at one point, they have fallen to sixth place and are in a virtual tie with the seventh-place Phoenix Suns<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Lakers’ trip will begin with a matchup against the Denver Nuggets<\/a>. The good news is that other than Austin Reaves and rookie forward Adou Thiero, everyone is expected to be available to play for them.<\/p>\n Reaves injured his gastrocnemius muscle in late December, and he was originally slated to be re-examined in four weeks, which means he should get looked at not too long from now.<\/p>\n Los Angeles was without him, Luka Doncic, Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes when it lost 132-116<\/a> to the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> on Saturday. But Doncic, Ayton and Hayes returned for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors<\/a>, which L.A. won 110-93<\/a>. In that contest, Ayton dropped 25 points on 10-of-10 field-goal shooting and 13 rebounds, making him just the fourth Lakers player<\/a> to ever have 20 points and 10 rebounds while going perfect from the field in a single game.<\/p>\n