Tag: Jarred Vanderbilt

NBA scout raves about Jarred Vanderbilt’s ability to defend guards

A scout for an Eastern Conference team says Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt can defend guards as well as any big man in the NBA.

One of the big keys for the Los Angeles Lakers in their upcoming second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors will be their ability to contain the superlative backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Fortunately, the Lakers have one of the NBA’s better and unique defensive standouts, Jarred Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt was the hidden gem in February’s Russell Westbrook trade that also brought D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley. Although Vanderbilt is a 6-foot-8 forward, L.A. head coach Darvin Ham instantly used him to shadow star guards, and the results have been impressive.

In fact, one Eastern Conference scout had some very complimentary things to say about Vanderbilt’s ability to defend backcourt players.

Via Los Angeles Times:

“I think you’ve got to mix it up a bit, you have to impact the ball,” said an Eastern Conference scout. “The bigs have to be up and committed and also challenging shots. Vanderbilt can guard guards on the perimeter as good as any big in the league.”

In Vanderbilt’s three games as a Laker against Golden State this season, his team emerged victorious each time, and the Warriors had trouble hitting shots each time.

In the last meeting between the two teams on March 5, Curry shot just 8-of-20 from the field while the Warriors as a team were held under 40% shooting.

In L.A.’s first-round series versus the Memphis Grizzlies, Vanderbilt helped hold Ja Morant to under 35% field-goal shooting in two of the five games he appeared in, including a 3-of-16 clunker in the Game 6 clincher.

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Darvin Ham praises Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense after win vs. Grizzlies

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham had some very nice things to say about Jarred Vanderbilt after his defensive effort against the Grizzlies.

The Los Angeles Lakers scored an impressive 128-112 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to open their best-of-seven first-round playoff series, and most of the credit went to their five best players: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.

All of them, save for Russell, scored more than 20 points on Sunday; Russell came very close with 19. James and Davis were outstanding on the defensive end. Davis came up with seven blocked shots, while James had three blocks and two steals.

But it was the defense Jarred Vanderbilt played that may have been most pivotal in L.A.’s win on Sunday.

He often guarded either Ja Morant or Desmond Bane, and he held Morant to 18 points and six turnovers while forcing Bane to go 6-of-18 from the field.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham gave Vanderbilt his flowers after the game (at 3:40).

“It’s a testament to him, and it’s a teachable moment for all young basketball players out there,” Ham said. “They just think it’s all about making threes or dunking on people or whatever. If you’re able to lock in defensively, rebound, and really embrace that role, there will always be a place for you on a high-level basketball team and in a high-level league such as the NBA. His ability to just lock in and be selfless, taking tough matchups, diving on the floor, doing the dirty work, setting screens, going to the second or third action when he’s involved — it’s great. It’s invaluable. And I’m just happy we have an asset like that on our roster.”

Vanderbilt, who was acquired in February’s Russell Westbrook trade, is a truly unique player. Even though he is 6-foot-8 and is listed as a power forward, he can guard players at multiple positions, including smaller guards.

The Lakers were desperate for such a player over the last couple of seasons, and even if Vanderbilt isn’t quite the rebounder or offensive option some may want him to be, he has become invaluable and even indispensable for them.

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Lakers will reportedly exercise Jarred Vanderbilt’s 2023-24 team option

According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, forward Jarred Vanderbilt will be staying put with the Lakers beyond this season.

By now, it has become apparent that the turning point this season for the Los Angeles Lakers was February’s Russell Westbrook trade that brought them D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley.

At first, fans may have thought Vanderbilt was merely a throw-in, but in reality, he was a hot commodity across the NBA that many teams wanted.

Once the 6-foot-8 forward became integrated into L.A.’s lineup, it was easy to see why.

Vanderbilt quickly emerged as a high-quality defender who could guard players at multiple positions. He often guards opposing forwards, but he has taken on smaller guards such as Ja Morant, whom he and the Lakers will face in the first round of the playoffs.

According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Vanderbilt will remain with the team next season because it plans on picking up his team option.

Via The Athletic:

“Vanderbilt has a $4.7 million team option for next season, one the Lakers plan on exercising. He’s hopeful he can put down roots in Los Angeles as part of what he deems a ‘high-caliber organization.'”

The Lakers have become one of the league’s best defensive teams since the trade deadline, something that seemed unimaginable during the struggles they had on that end earlier this season and last season. Vanderbilt and his unique gifts have had a great deal to do with that improvement.

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A trio of Lakers will face their former team on Tuesday

When the Lakers play the Timberwolves on Tuesday, D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt will face their former teammates.

It is axiomatic in the NBA that when a player goes up against his former team, especially in postseason play, he is more motivated than usual and tends to have a very good game.

Of course, some players, when faced with that situation, see it as just another game — or at least that’s what they will say publicly.

When the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament on Tuesday, three of their players will be facing their former team: D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. All arrived in February’s blockbuster Russell Westbrook trade.

Each seems to be adopting a slightly different attitude about the upcoming contest.

Two stats show Jarred Vanderbilt’s impact on the Lakers’ defense

Since coming to the Lakers, forward Jarred Vanderbilt has transformed their defense.

February’s blockbuster Russell Westbrook trade was a win in multiple ways for the Los Angeles Lakers.

For one, they rid themselves of a player (Westbrook) that though talented was vastly flawed and simply didn’t fit their personnel.

For another, they acquired a replacement, D’Angelo Russell, who is actually a good 3-point shooter, a good facilitator and someone who is pretty good in transition. Significantly, he doesn’t share Westbrook’s propensity to commit turnovers and make unforced errors.

Even better, the trade also netted Los Angeles power forward Jarred Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt quickly emerged as a versatile wing defender who has taken on Brandon Ingram, Luka Doncic, Julius Randle and Devin Booker. Even though he hasn’t contained all of those stars, he has certainly made them work hard to get their points.

Perhaps Vanderbilt’s value to the Lakers cannot be measured by the numbers and shooting percentages those stars put up against him, but these two numbers are a good indicator of how he has helped them.

The Pelicans almost traded for Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley before the Lakers did

Reportedly, the Lakers were close to missing out on two of the major players they received in the Russell Westbrook trade.

The Los Angeles Lakers may have salvaged what was turning into yet another disappointing season when they traded Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a 2027 first-round draft pick for D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley a day before the trade deadline.

Many fans would’ve been happy if the team had simply dumped Westbrook without getting anything of value in return. Instead, it gained what looks like outstanding value for him.

A big reason was the fact the deal included Vanderbilt, who has emerged as a defensive standout and a good rebounder, as well as Beasley, who always carries the threat of being a 3-point sniper.

But both almost became members of the New Orleans Pelicans instead (h/t Sports Illustrated).

Via The Lowe Post:

“The Pelicans were close to getting Beasley and Vanderbilt from Utah at the trade deadline, or close-ish,” Lowe revealed. “They had a pretty good offer on the table, it was a draft equity-based offer with a pick that maybe was not as good as the Lakers pick that they ended up trading, but pretty close from what I’ve heard.”

Perhaps the deal-breaker was Mike Conley, the veteran point guard the Utah Jazz were looking to get rid of.

“But one of the issues was maybe the picks weren’t exactly equivalent, but the other issue was (Mike) Conley, and the Jazz’s determination to get off of Conley, and could the Pelicans figure that out somehow and it became a little complicated,” Lowe explained. “But that trade ends up helping the Lakers, helping the Wolves, and the Pelicans don’t get involved in it and now they’re falling apart.”

After a couple of years of lousy luck, the Lakers and their beleaguered general manager Rob Pelinka finally benefited from a strong dose of good luck in the Westbrook trade. It could very well make them into a very good team, if not a contender, next season.

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Jarred Vanderbilt is playing like the biggest steal of the NBA trade deadline for the Lakers

If the Lakers are going to make a run in the playoffs, acquiring Vanderbilt may be a huge reason why.

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.

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:

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.

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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LeBron James, Anthony Davis talk about Jarred Vanderbilt’s impact

Jarred Vanderbilt was the X-factor in the Lakers’ comeback win on Sunday, and the team’s two superstars are very happy with him.

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded Russell Westbrook earlier this month, many fans were happy he would no longer be a member of the team. But that was only the beginning of the story.

The Lakers received point guard D’Angelo Russell, sharpshooter Malik Beasley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt in the trade. While plenty of fans weren’t that familiar with Vanderbilt, they quickly fell in love with him once they saw him play.

Even though he is listed as a power forward, Vanderbilt quickly emerged as a standout perimeter defender for L.A. with his ability to effectively guard multiple positions. He did a good job on the New Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram on Feb. 15, and on Sunday, he made life difficult for Luka Doncic.

When he was the primary defender on Doncic, the Slovenian native went  2-of-7 from the field. Vanderbilt’s length, energy and effort were bothersome.

He was the catalyst and some would say the MVP of the Lakers’ comeback from a 27-point deficit to defeat Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks, 111-108.

Afterward, Anthony Davis talked about Vanderbilt’s impact, not just on defense but also on the offensive end (h/t Silver Screen and Roll).

“Very valuable,” Davis said. “Being down 27 (points), 14 (points) at half, and he comes out and sets the tone for us defensively on Luka, getting some steals, making him shoot some tough shots, his rebounding on both ends of the floor. He just started an effect for our group to lock in defensively.

“On the other end, he knows guys like to play off of him and make him shoot and he knows how to play off it with his corner cutting and crashing into the glass, getting us extra possessions. His value for our team, you can’t even put it into words what he brings and does for us. Having a player like that definitely helps us.”

LeBron James, meanwhile, described how Vanderbilt uses his reputation as a lacking offensive player to his advantage on that end of the floor.

“I think some guys in our league,” James said of Vanderbilt, “when you’re not great at something, teams are able to use that to their advantage defensively. They can either sag off of you or play off of you. Sometimes, you’re playing offense 5 on 4, whatever the case may be. His basketball IQ and his intelligence of being guarded this way for so long has actually used it to his advantage. Teams turn their head because they’re not paying attention to him because they don’t think he’s a threat (from 3-point range), goes backdoor for a layup as you saw in the fourth quarter with the reverse (layup). Teams are not accounting for him when shots go up so you saw eight offensive rebounds he had.

“His energy, his effort, he knows where to be on every single possession and he knows how to utilize teams not accounting for him as an offensive threat. That is basketball IQ in its own right and that’s what makes him the player he is.”

Vanderbilt finished with 17 rebounds, eight of them on the offensive boards, 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and four steals. He has been a revelation for a Lakers team and fan base that has been starving for a high-level, versatile wing defender and energy player for years.

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Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt to guard Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic on Sunday

Jarred Vanderbilt, one of the Lakers’ newcomers and a defensive standout, will look to contain the seemingly unstoppable Luka Doncic.

Since coming to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Russell Westbrook trade, forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been a revelation, particularly on the defensive end.

He has taken on the task of guarding standout wings, and he has shown himself capable of effectively guarding players at multiple positions.

Vanderbilt has the energy, athleticism, effort and desire to fight through screens, help and recover, contest shots and get into the passing lanes to force turnovers.

On Sunday, the Lakers will visit the Dallas Mavericks, which means dealing with Luka Doncic. According to head coach Darvin Ham, Vanderbilt will have the main defensive assignment of covering Doncic.

Doncic causes headaches for everyone. He is averaging 33.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game while shooting 50.5% from the field this season.

However, in six games head-to-head against Vanderbilt, Doncic has been held far below his usual production.

The Lakers will have their hands full, especially if D’Angelo Russell isn’t able to play due to a sprained ankle. However, winning isn’t exactly out of the question for them, even if Russell is out.

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Starters Lakers had vs. Pelicans last week expected to become the norm

It looks like D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt will remain in the Lakers’ starting lineup for a while.

Armed with a somewhat new roster, the Los Angeles Lakers begin the stretch run of the 2022-23 regular season on Thursday by hosting the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

Despite their struggles of late, the Lakers are within striking distance of not only a play-in tournament spot but also a spot in the top six of the Western Conference, which would mean bypassing the play-in tournament and making the playoffs outright.

In L.A.’s last game, head coach Darvin Ham went with a starting lineup that featured three of the team’s newcomers: D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley in the backcourt and Jarred Vanderbilt at one forward spot alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

It appears Ham will stick with that lineup for the foreseeable future.

Via Los Angeles Times:

“The starting lineup Ham used during the Lakers’ last game before the All-Star Game against the (New Orleans) Pelicans featured James, Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley and is expected to become the norm.”

That lineup worked well. The Lakers won, 120-102, while shooting 53% from the field and tallying 32 assists.

Many have clamored for Vanderbilt, an energetic player who has shown tremendous defensive potential and is a good rebounder, to be moved into the starting lineup. He has shown an ability to effectively guard wings and forwards on the perimeter, which can give James some rest on the defensive end and allow him to save more of his energy for offense.

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