Tag: Jarred Vanderbilt

Buha: Jarred Vanderbilt will likely return before the end of this season

It looks like there’s a good chance key Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt will return to game action at some point this season.

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.

Positive injury updates on Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt

Injured Lakers players Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt could be slowly nearing a return.

The injury bug has been a pretty big adversary for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. While LeBron James and Anthony Davis have remained relatively healthy, at least so far, numerous other players have missed at least several games due to various ailments.

Right now, guard Gabe Vincent, forward Jarred Vanderbilt and big man Christian Wood are out. Vincent had knee surgery several weeks ago after dealing with prolonged swelling, Vanderbilt suffered a foot injury about a month ago and Wood has a knee swelling issue of his own.

Many Lakers fans have been skeptical or even cynical about Vincent’s chances of returning this season. But Shams Charania reported Vincent is “doing more and more on the court” and the guard hopes to return in a few weeks.

Vincent, who emerged last season as a key contributor for a Miami Heat team that unexpectedly reached the NBA Finals, has appeared in five games this season. He is a gritty defender and hustle player who has shown some ability to hit timely shots and handle the rock as a secondary ball-handler.

As for Vanderbilt, he was seen without a walking boot on Monday when L.A. defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Lakers will provide further updates on both Vincent and Vanderbilt next week.

Four injured Lakers to be reevaluated after the All-Star break

The Lakers will take a look at four of their injured players after the All-Star break concludes next week.

The Los Angeles Lakers may be starting to perk up. They have won four of their last five games and six of their last nine games, and their offense has been playing at arguably an elite level during that time.

As has become the norm this season, they have been playing short-handed. Guard Gabe Vincent has only played five games so far due to a knee ailment he recently had surgery on and forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a foot injury just days ago that is expected to keep him out for several weeks.

In addition, second-year guard Max Christie sprained his ankle on Thursday against the Denver Nuggets and missed Friday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans, while forward Cam Reddish has missed the team’s last nine contests.

All four will be reevaluated after the All-Star break, which will start this weekend.

Of the four, Vanderbilt is the most essential to L.A.’s success because of his defense, versatility, rebounding and overall energy and intensity. Vincent also has the ability to help the team with his defense, grittiness and ability to be a relief ball-handler.

Jarred Vanderbilt has mid-foot sprain, will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks

It looks like perhaps Jarred Vanderbilt’s right foot injury isn’t as severe as initially feared.

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.

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

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.

Woj: Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt could be lost for the season

The right foot injury Jarred Vanderbilt suffered on Thursday could put him on the shelf until next season.

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.

“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.

Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss several weeks with foot injury

The Lakers have suffered another bad break on the injury front.

This season has brought a continual string of injuries for the Los Angeles Lakers. A few players have been hit harder by the injury bug than others.

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t make his regular season debut until Dec. 2 because of a bout with heel bursitis. It took him a while to get into game shape, but over the last few weeks, he had started to look like his old self.

He was seemingly everywhere in the first half of the Lakers’ stunning win on Thursday over the Boston Celtics. Alas, he came up hobbling late in the first half and went straight to the locker room.

The team reportedly expects him to miss several weeks with a right foot injury, and he could be out even longer.

This will be a major loss for L.A. Vanderbilt has given the team ample defensive energy and activity, help on the boards and positive play on the fast break since arriving in a trade nearly a year ago.

Anthony Davis defends Jarred Vanderbilt after Dillon Brooks episode

After Jarred Vanderbilt was ejected following a dust-up with Dillon Brooks, Anthony Davis had his back.

Over the last couple of years, Dillon Brooks, first with the Memphis Grizzlies and now with the Houston Rockets, has branded himself as one of the NBA’s biggest villains. Unlike some who have been branded as villains, Brooks truly loves playing such a role.

The Los Angeles Lakers received an up-close-and-personal look at Brooks and his tactics in the first round of the playoffs when he went at LeBron James more than once, not just verbally but also physically. On Monday, they played against him again, and this time, he made Jarred Vanderbilt his target.

Early in the second quarter, he fouled Vanderbilt on a dunk. Moments later, he made contact with Vanderbilt again. The Lakers forward reacted by shoving Brooks, earning him a technical foul, and right afterward, he poked Brooks’ head, which led to him being ejected.

Anthony Davis had Vanderbilt’s back. He said after the game the whole exchange was Brooks’ fault (h/t ESPN).

“He’s going for a wide-open dunk and (Brooks) just pushed him in the back,” Davis said. “It’s not a safe play. Guys get hurt like that. And you got to know what type of player (Brooks) is. (The referees) kind of let that just keep going on, and (Brooks) kind of provoked it. He talks and says whatever he wants to the refs, to players and at the end of the day, we’re men. No man is going to talk toward another man the way he was talking to Vando. So, Vando did what he had to do.”

Davis even felt Brooks should’ve been ejected for his hard foul on Vanderbilt.

“I mean, you take a hard foul,” Davis said. “That’s part of basketball, but you are just not going to blatantly push someone in their back when they have no control of their body and they are in the air. And he should have gotten ejected for that. And then you know him and Bron have their (collision) and from what I saw, it was just a blatant hit to LeBron to his face.”

Later in the game, Brooks was assessed a flagrant foul for the hit to James’ face that Davis mentioned. But his initial foul on Vanderbilt was upheld as a common foul after the referees initiated a review.

Watch: LeBron James’ fast-break bounce pass to Jarred Vanderbilt for the jam

There were plenty of highlights in the Lakers’ win over the Mavericks, but one involving LeBron James and Jarred Vanderbilt stood out.

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to build momentum with their new starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Facing the Dallas Mavericks at home on Wednesday, they opened a big lead and played with the type of ease they have rarely enjoyed this season.

The Lakers’ fast break, the one thing in their arsenal that is elite, did substantial damage versus Dallas, and it provided plenty of entertainment for the fans at Crypto.com Arena.

At one point in the fourth quarter, Christian Wood grabbed a defensive rebound and tossed the basketball ahead to LeBron James, who immediately made a pinpoint bounce pass to Jarred Vanderbilt for the dunk.

With a 127-110 victory over the Mavs, Los Angeles improved to 21-21. It had lost both of its previous contests to the Mavs this season by a combined five points.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham will use new starting lineup vs. Thunder

Against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is going with a new starting five that has tons of length.

Losers of four games in a row and five of their last six, the Los Angeles Lakers need to find something that will spark them once again and result in wins in bunches.

They made a lineup change about six weeks ago when head coach Darvin Ham moved Austin Reaves to the bench and promoted forward Cam Reddish to the starting five. At the time, the Lakers were 3-5, but the move resulted in 12 wins in their next 16 games, including the in-season tournament final game.

Now, with the team set to face the dangerous Oklahoma City Thunder, Ham is making another move. He will start LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jarred Vanderbilt versus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and crew.

Ham apparently is doing so to give the Lakers more length and disruptors on defense. The move also aims to jump-start the Lakers’ transition game, which often seems to be their bread and butter on offense.

Vanderbilt hasn’t been in the starting lineup since last season’s playoffs. He is still a poor 3-point shooter, but other than Davis, he’s probably L.A.’s best and most versatile defender.

Perhaps another reason for this change is the struggles of guard D’Angelo Russell. He is shooting 37.5% from the field and 27.5% from 3-point range in December.

Jarred Vanderbilt won’t play in Tuesday’s Lakers vs. Mavericks game

The Lakers will be without one of their best and versatile defenders on Tuesday when they visit Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

The regular season continues on Tuesday for the Los Angeles Lakers after they won the inaugural NBA Cup on Saturday. They will start a three-game road trip with a contest against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs defeated L.A. at Crypto.com Arena nearly three weeks ago, and L.A. will surely want to make up for what happened on that night.

The team has been surging over the last month, and it has been getting healthier. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, one of its best and most versatile defenders, recently returned after being sidelined since early in the preseason with heel bursitis. Guard Gabe Vincent appears close to returning himself.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, Vanderbilt will not play on Tuesday due to a back issue.

For the Mavs, star guard Kyrie Irving will not play because of a heel injury, giving the Lakers a big opportunity to improve on their 14-9 record and their sixth-place standing in the Western Conference.

With a win, they can leapfrog the Mavs, who are 14-8 and in third place in the West.