Brooklyn and Philadelphia are set to do battle in a first-place showdown midweek – the two championship hopefuls share 37-17 win-loss records atop the east.
But the Nets will be without superstar Durant (hamstring – injury management) and former All-Stars Aldridge (illness – non-covid related) and Griffin (knee – injury management) as the trio join James Harden (hamstring) on the sidelines.
The star-studded Nets, however, do welcome back Kyrie Irving after he missed Tuesday's 127-97 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves due to personal reasons.
Former MVP Durant was in doubt for the 76ers clash after playing 27 minutes against the Timberwolves.
Durant posted 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting in his third appearance following a 23-game injury absence.
The Nets-Timberwolves matchup was initially scheduled for Monday, but it was pushed back in the aftermath of Daunte Wright being shot and killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.
It meant Durant faced the prospect of back-to-back games, which the Nets opted to avoid as they eye their maiden NBA title.
Durant is averaging 28.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the star-studded Nets this season.
He is also shooting a career-high 44.8 per cent from three-point range, while the two-time NBA champion (53.5) only boasted a better field-goal percentage in 2016-17 (53.7).
Without Anthony Davis, who did not play due to injury, and off the back of a narrow loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lakers made a strong start but faded badly at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
James made his first seven shots but had just two points in the second half, the Pistons running out comfortable winners by a 107-92 scoreline for just their fifth victory of the campaign.
For the four-time NBA MVP, however, it is all about the bigger picture, rather than one-off results. With limited practice time available to teams due to the altered schedule amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and a number of new faces having joined during the offseason, the Lakers are having to experiment during games.
"We are all learning on the fly due to the lack of practice time," James said.
"You know with this season it's very difficult to get those practice minutes on the floor and know what does and doesn't work. It's very strange with that.
"We are definitely all adjusting to playing with different line-ups and logging minutes with line-ups that in one game you may not have played with, then it could be [the case] for a few games in a row.
"A lot of our games are also big practices for us too, we have to learn on the fly and coach is still learning different line-ups, which combinations work.
"Myself, I'm out here with certain line-ups I do play with, certain ones I don't. It's all a learning experience and trying to figure things out."
James, who finished with 22 points and 10 assists, insisted his second-half output was not due to tiredness. Far from it, in fact.
"I don't feel tired. I get my sleep, I get my rest. I have a lot of energy, I don't get tired," said the 36-year-old, who revealed during his post-game press conference that he likes to watch shows and drink a glass of wine to relax.
"My mindset never gets to the point where it's a long road trip and I'm exhausted and tired, I don't even think about that. When we have our games, I'm ready to go.
"When we're not playing, I have an opportunity to rest, get my body back right and my mind refreshed. I don't get tired."
Kyle Kuzma also had 22 points for the Lakers, while Blake Griffin led the way for Detroit with 23.
