There are some players whose stats simply do not state how big of an impact they can have and Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Jarred Vanderbilt is the epitome of that. Vanderbilt’s numbers rarely jump off the page, but his work on the defensive end is simply exceptional.
Vanderbilt was the primary defender on Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant in their first-round series and was a major reason the career 47.2% shooter shot just 42.5% in the series including 3-of-16 in the deciding Game 6. And the Lakers’ defensive ace believes the Lakers sent a message in that contest.
“I mean, we just made a statement,” Vanderbilt said after the win. “We came out with an aggressive mindset. We didn’t want to play around to give them any hope so our game plan was just to go out there and eliminate all hope for them and I think we did that. We set the tone for the game.”
The Lakers definitely did just that, never giving the Grizzlies any hope that they would win the game and shutting down any possibilities of a comeback. In Game 6, it was D’Angelo Russell with the huge night, one of many role players to step up throughout the series and Vanderbilt believes this first round showed just how deep the Lakers are.
“We just learn how dangerous, how deep we are,” the Lakers forward noted. “Tonight, DLo had it going. First couple games, Rui had it going. We saw big games from AR, Dennis, everybody. So I just feel like we’re so deep as a team and the more we play together, the better our chemistry will be. It’s just getting scary so like I said, tonight we were locked in on both ends and when we’re competing like that on both ends of the floor, I feel like we can compete with anybody.”
The key for the Lakers now will be remaining locked in consistently, especially on the defensive end. As Vanderbilt said, the more the Lakers play together the better their chemistry becomes and the better they become overall as a team. They will need to keep that mindset and energy as they continue to move forward in these playoffs.
Anthony Davis says Lakers wanted to let their game do the talking vs. Grizzlies
Before the series began, and multiple times during, the Grizzlies and Dillon Brooks, in particular, had some things to say to the Lakers. But the team never responded to any of the trash talk in the media, choosing to focus on the game itself and Anthony Davis says they wanted to let their on-court performance speak loudest.
“People are going to talk,” Davis said. “We’ve had some trash talk on the court in the series, but all the talk in the media and all that stuff, we just go out and let our game talk and play basketball. We try not to get in a back-and-forth with guys.
“Obviously, that’s how a lot of times guys kind of get themselves going. When guys are constantly talking, and you don’t say nothing back… they’re going to eventually stop. I think that’s what kind of happened with Dillon Brooks, but we just wanted to let our game talk. Every time we step on the floor, play basketball and let the rest take care of itself.”
In the end, the Lakers’ Game 6 performance said volumes, while Brooks once again said nothing after another loss.
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