As the 2023-24 season winds down, the Los Angeles Lakers have played like one of the better teams in the NBA as they’ve won eight of their last nine games with their most recent victory coming against the hapless Washington Wizards.
It’s going to be an uphill climb for the Lakers to move up in the standings, but they still have a chance to get out of the ninth spot and avoid having to win two games in the Play-In Tournament to qualify for the postseason. LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain the constants for the team, though they’ve gotten plenty of help from D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura during this current stretch.
Good news could also be on the horizon as Jarred Vanderbilt continues to progress through his rehab. Vanderbilt injured his foot nearly two months ago and managed to avoid season-ending surgery and has been working hard to return before the end of the regular season.
There have been reports that Vanderbilt was targeting an early April return and he could still hit that timeline because head coach Darvin Ham said he’d be re-evaluated early next week, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
Darvin Ham says Jarred Vanderbilt will be re-evaluated early next week.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 3, 2024
The forward was also seen getting a pregame workout in with assistant coaches Phil Handy and DeMarre Carroll:
Jarred Vanderbilt getting some pregame on-court work in with assistant coaches Phil Handy and DeMarre Carroll pic.twitter.com/ZvY4EQam6q
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 3, 2024
In the minute-long clip, Vanderbilt can be seen shooting layups and a few jumpers before transitioning into some dribbling work with Handy. He seemed to be in good spirits and seemed to be moving OK though he didn’t run or jump.
Hopefully his re-evaluation goes well and he’s able to start ramping up as there are only a handful of games left in the season. Ideally, Vanderbilt would have at least a few games to get himself re-acclimated so it’ll be interesting to see how the team handles his workload if he’s able to get back on the floor.
D’Angelo Russell says Lakers having fun has translated into wins
Los Angeles wrapped up their six-game road trip and came away with a 5-1 record, an impressive showing that helped them keep pace with the rest of the conference. Russell has been pivotal as an outside shooter and he credited the team having fun for their recent winning stretch.
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