Last season, Jarred Vanderbilt proved to be an excellent fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis after the Los Angeles Lakers acquired him at the trade deadline. It didn’t take long for Darvin Ham to insert him into the starting lineup, where his energy and defense was invaluable.
More of the same was expected this season, but a heel issue took Vanderbilt out before the season even began. Even as he eventually returned, Vanderbilt hasn’t looked like the same impact player from a season ago.
But Vanderbilt had perhaps his best showing against the Phoenix Suns, finishing with six points, nine rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes. With Cam Reddish leaving the game due to a knee injury, Vanderbilt saw a big increase in minutes and LeBron believes the forward is getting closer to returning to form.
“We know what we have in Vando and as he continues to get healthier and healthier, we know what we’ll get out of him,” LeBron said after the game. “I don’t like you said in that last part about Cam and his knee, so it just goes back to what we’ve been dealing with all year as far as us not being healthy.
“Health is the most important and obviously we need Cam to worry about that before he gets back on the floor. But we know what we get out of Vando, especially when he’s back in rhythm and back feeling better.”
Vanderbilt returning to the player he was last season would be huge for the Lakers as defense is their calling card and Vanderbilt is one of the best the league has to offer. That heel issue really set him back, but Ham is starting to see the real Vanderbilt come back.
“I just think he’s starting to see that burst again,” Ham added. “Him chasing down some 50-50 balls and getting some offensive rebounds, just his activity has improved with each and every game. He knows where to be. He can make a play with the ball in his hands for a teammate, but just that burst of speed, that athleticism and versatility. You’re starting to see that quick twitch coming back.”
Those hustle plays can really change the momentum of a game and Vanderbilt provides that in a way that no one else on the Lakers really does. The Lakers are a much better team with Vanderbilt at his best and they are close to having that.
Jarred Vanderbilt still believes Lakers can be a championship team
Of course the ultimate goal for the Lakers remains winning a championship, but they have looked far from a championship contender lately. But despite the rough stretch, Vanderbilt hasn’t wavered in his belief that this team can win it all.
“I still believe. I mean, it’s the NBA,” Vanderbilt said. “We’re just going through a rough patch right now, and it happens on every single team I’ve been on whether we started off hot or started off slow. Everybody goes through it.”
“So this is just a time that we’re going through. And like I said, we just got to individually figure out something that we all could do individually to help our team get better and then collectively come together as a unit and try to achieve that goal.”
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