During a shocking win over the Mavericks on Sunday, the Lakers completed their biggest comeback in more than two decades. Jarred Vanderbilt played a massive role.
Before the game on Sunday, NBA teams were 0-138 when trailing by at least 27 points. But the Lakers became the first squad to overcome such a lopsided deficit and they couldn’t have done it without Vanderbilt. The energy was just different when he was on the court.
The forward finished with 15 points (6-8 FG, 1-1 3P), 17 rebounds, and 4 steals. He also added five deflections, one offensive loose ball recovered, and one defensive loose ball recovered.
Los Angeles was very involved during the trade deadline and made some massive shake-ups. D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, and Rui Hachimura may have gotten the most attention at the time.
Vanderbilt, however, looks like he may be the most important of the group. He is a ferocious rebounder who keeps his team involved in every possession with constant activity.
Lakers' Jarred Vanderbilt recorded 8 of his 17 rebounds on the offensive rebounds against the Mavericks.
Watch the clips of each one. Most occurred with a perimeter player not paying attention or being assertive when needing to get a body on him. Very poor results. pic.twitter.com/cE7oTDmHig
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 27, 2023
Los Angeles sees a spike in offensive rebound percentage whenever Vanderbilt is playing. The Lakers have scored 18.8 points per 100 possessions on second-chance opportunities during the minutes played with Vanderbilt, per PBPStats, but just 12.7 during minutes without him.
The Lakers were already a very fast team, but they actually play faster even when he is on the court. The average offensive possession has lasted 13.6 seconds with Vanderbilt and 14.1 seconds without; the league average is 14.6 seconds.
Watch the way that he is able to push the pace in transition and score:
JARRED VANDERBILT APPRECIATION TWEET 🫶
pic.twitter.com/ciEO5jUFxK— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) February 26, 2023
This season, the 23-year-old former Kentucky standout has also shown that he is a fairly effective passer and playmaker for a big man.
With his unselfish instincts and low-volume offensive efficiency, he is a valuable addition to a lineup that features two very high-usage players with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
But the biggest difference that Vanderbilt can make for this team is the way that he can change the game on the defensive end of the floor. He has proven himself as a disruptive player and teams have far less success whenever he is active.
Watch Jarred Vanderbilt on this possession: pic.twitter.com/6OaMlMw2Sk
— mathketball (@Mathketball1) February 26, 2023
Vanderbilt is a positionally versatile defender whose steal percentage has ranked in the 90th percentile or better among players at his position during each of the past three seasons, per Cleaning the Glass.
Opponents are shooting 67.3 percent at the rim against the Lakers during minutes without Vanderbilt. But they are just 58.3 percent when he is on the court, via Cleaning The Glass, which puts him in the 98th percentile.
He is also making a defensive impact on other 2-pointers, too. Opponents are shooting 43.5 percent from short midrange against the Lakers during minutes without Vanderbilt and just 34.2 percent when he is on the court, which ranks in the 99th percentile.
Overall, his defensive box plus-minus ranks in the top 20 among qualified candidates so far during the 2022-23 campaign.
Vanderbilt is on a reasonable contract for next season, too, which makes him even more valuable. If the Lakers are going to make a run in the playoffs, the savvy move of acquiring Vanderbilt may be a huge reason why.
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