Tag: Jarred Vanderbilt

The Los Angeles Lakers have won eight of their last nine games and 10 of their last 13, and it looks like they’re ramping up ahead of the postseason.

They recently welcomed back guard Gabe Vincent, who had been out for three months and had only played five games to that point because of a persistent knee problem. Once Vincent gets up to speed, he should provide the perimeter defense they have been lacking.

When it comes to perimeter defense, L.A. has really missed forward Jarred Vanderbilt and his ability to effectively guard multiple positions. He has reportedly been slowly making progress, and the team has reportedly targeted the next week or so for his return.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Vanderbilt is working “towards full sprinting and jumping” but hasn’t been cleared for contact activities.

Jarred Vanderbilt has still not been cleared for any contact drills and continues to work his way towards full sprinting and jumping in his reconditioning program. He went through an individual workout at UCLA Health Training Center today while the Lakers held a team practice.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 5, 2024

The Lakers are expected to reevaluate Vanderbilt early next week. They have five games left in their regular-season schedule. With a 44-33 record, they remain in ninth place in the Western Conference.

Little by little, the pieces may be falling into place for the Los Angeles Lakers as far as a possible postseason run.

Even though they went down to the Indiana Pacers on Friday while scoring a season-low 90 points, they have won seven of their last 10 games. They’re in ninth place in the Western Conference, and they trail the eighth-place Sacramento Kings by just 1 1/2 games, which suggests they could end up moving up in the standings.

Guard Gabe Vincent, who has played in just five games this season due to a persistent knee ailment, seems very close to finally returning. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been ramping up his activity after spraining his foot about two months ago.

According to Jovan Buha, a Lakers beat writer for The Athletic, during a recent question and answer session, the team is targeting early April for Vanderbilt’s return (h/t Lakers Daily).

“From what I’ve heard, the Lakers are targeting early April,” Buha said regarding Vanderbilt’s potential return. “I don’t have a concrete date in terms of is that April 2? Is that April 9? But sometime within that first week to week and a half of April, the Lakers are trying to get Vando back. The season ends on April 14, so they are trying to get him back to get at least three or four games under his belt. One good sign is he’s been traveling with the team.”

The Lakers have missed Vanderbilt’s ability to effectively guard players at multiple positions, hit the boards, run the floor in transition and provide them with energy and intensity. He had already missed the last several weeks of this season with heel bursitis, and he had been just starting to hit his stride at the time of his foot injury.

An early April return would leave him with little time to get back in game shape and rhythm before the start of the postseason. But of course, L.A. would much rather have him back at that point than not have him come back at all this season.

While the Los Angeles Lakers have played significantly better over the last two months or so than the first half of this season, they have had to go to battle without one of their key players.

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt was starting to play some excellent basketball in January when he suffered a foot injury late in the month. He has been out ever since, and there has been concern that he will be out for the rest of the year.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the supersub has begun running as part of his rehab, although he hasn’t done any contact drills yet.

Darvin Ham says Jarred Vanderbilt still has not participated in contact drills and he rehabs his foot injury but has begun running as part of his return-to-play plan.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 26, 2024

The Lakers have missed his defensive versatility, ability to hit the boards, run the floor in transition and provide overall energy and intensity. He was a key piece who arrived in last February’s Russell Westbrook trade, and he played a sizable role in getting the team to last year’s Western Conference finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers disappointed many fans this winter when they opted to not make any trades ahead of the trade deadline. There were plenty of rumors they were after good players such as Dejounte Murray and Bruce Brown, but they stood pat.

General manager Rob Pelinka said there were simply no trades to be had, and he made an analogy to not being able to buy a house that’s not for sale. But according to insider Anthony Irwin, the team also didn’t make a move because it believed the season wasn’t salvageable.

It felt that way due to a foot injury in late January that has sidelined Jarred Vanderbilt ever since.

Via Lakers Daily:

“While the Lakers would love to get Vanderbilt back and desperately need his energy, perimeter defense and physicality on the boards, they have operated as if they aren’t going to get him back,” wrote Irwin. “Some within the organization have even explained that the Lakers’ inactivity at the deadline was due in part to thinking this season was beyond salvation after his injury — which they considered season-ending at the time.”

Vanderbilt is one of the Lakers’ most important non-stars because of his effective and versatile defense, ability to help out on the defensive boards and overall energy. He missed the first several weeks of the season due to heel bursitis, but after returning, he was starting to find ways to contribute on offense, even though he is distinctly unskilled on that end of the floor.

He arrived in last season’s Russell Westbrook trade, and he was a catalyst behind their late-season run that took them all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

The team has also been without guard Gabe Vincent, another strong defender. He was out for most of November and December because of a knee ailment, and after playing one game in late December, he went back on the shelf and hasn’t played since.

Without Vanderbilt and Vincent, the Lakers have struggled on the defensive end. So far in March, they’re just 27th in defensive rating, and since the All-Star break, they have a 7-6 record while ranking 28th in defensive rating.

While the Los Angeles Lakers have been playing relatively well over the last month and change, they have been dealing with the injury bug. Right now, they’re without three important rotation players: guard Gabe Vincent, big man Christian Wood and forward Jarred Vanderbilt.

Of the three, Vanderbilt is arguably the most integral player to the Lakers’ success. He’s an effective and versatile defender, a good rebounder and a player who, in general, infuses them with energy, effort and intensity.

He’s been out since Feb. 1, when he suffered a foot injury against the Boston Celtics. There has been anxiety over his prognosis and timeline, and fans have wondered if he will return this season.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic during a recent live stream, it looks like Vanderbilt will be back at some point before the end of this season (h/t Silver Screen and Roll).

“The latest I heard was yes … I’ve heard Vando is progressing upward. Sounds like he’s going to be back this season. It’s just a matter of timing. Is it two weeks from now, is it four weeks from now? That’s a big difference.”

Four weeks from now would mean a return during one of L.A.’s final few regular season games. That would give him very little time to get back in shape and regain his rhythm before the postseason starts, should the team make it there.

But of course, that would be a substantially better scenario than Vanderbilt not able to play at all this spring.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ “Grammy” road trip was looking bleak days ago, but without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they shocked the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Suddenly, fans and observers raised their eyebrows.

But as the old saying goes, every rose has its thorn. That proverbial thorn pinched forward Jarred Vanderbilt; he suffered a right foot injury just before halftime against Boston.

It was expected he would miss several weeks, and there was also legitimate fear he would have to sit out the rest of the season.

But the Lakers may have dodged a bullet. He reportedly will be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks due to a mid-foot sprain.

From the Lakers:
After consultation with multiple specialists, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been diagnosed with a right mid-foot sprain. He will be re-evaluated by team doctors in approximately 3-4 weeks.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 5, 2024

In fact, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham had an optimistic tone about Vanderbilt’s prognosis.

Darvin Ham says there is “definitely” some hope for Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury but the team doesn’t want to get ahead of itself. He added that Vanderbilt is still seeking further evaluation for his right mid-foot sprain.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 5, 2024

In the forward’s absence, one has to expect second-year Max Christie to get more playing time. Christie has shown promise not only as a defensive stopper but also as a floor spacer.

While the Los Angeles Lakers found a way to defeat the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in their last two games, the injury bug continues to chew away at them.

On Thursday against Boston, forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who had been playing his best basketball of the season, suffered a right foot injury and immediately left the game. He’s expected to miss the next several weeks.

The injury came as L.A. was outworking and outhustling a Celtics team that many consider the best in the NBA en route to a 114-105 victory. It seemed emblematic of the type of unfortunate injury luck the team has been having all season.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, there is concern Vanderbilt will have to miss the rest of the season. The reporter added this injury could affect what the team does or doesn’t do ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.

Reporting on ABC NBA Countdown on Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt’s “significant” foot injury and concern he’s lost for season: pic.twitter.com/onCOWnna4c

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2024

“I’m told that Jarred Vanderbilt has suffered what was described to me as a significant right foot injury. There’s concern that he could be lost for the rest of the season. They’re consulting with specialists this weekend going through that foot injury on Vanderbilt. But at the minimum, I’m told that he’s out for several weeks and could very well be out for the rest of the season.

“The Lakers have been without Gabe Vincent along with Jarred Vanderbilt, maybe their two best point of attack defenders for most of the season with Vincent out. And now that certainly has to figure into the calculus for the Lakers, for (general manager) Rob Pelinka as they head into the final days before Thursday’s trade deadline because this is not a marketplace right now where there are a lot of difference makers available and the Lakers do not have significant assets to add to this team. And now, if you are bringing in a player how much does he move the needle with a team that very well could be without Vanderbilt now for the rest of the season. The Lakers could get to the offseason, have three first-round picks available in the summer to do deals. They’ll keep working at it until Thursday, but Vanderbilt, the possibility of him being lost for the season now that impacts trade deadline, too.”

Vanderbilt, since arriving in a trade about a year ago, has been a very effective and versatile defender, as well as a good rebounder and a classic energy player. Recently, he has found ways to be effective offensively as well, even though he lacks offensive skills.

The Lakers had been targeting Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, a former All-Star, in trade talks. But there is a feeling they have moved away from their pursuit of Murray and are instead looking to land a defensive wing.