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In advance of Wednesday night’s game against the Clippers, I openly told anyone who would listen, “if Jarred Vanderbilt doesn’t play tonight, he might not ever play this season.”
Not only were the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back, but both Luka Dončić and Ziaire Williams were then held out as precautionary measures with minor nicks and bruises, to go along with Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr remaining out.
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That’s four players, two of them starters and three of them forwards, who contribute defensively by defending up and down the lineup to best aid in whatever defensive approach head coach JJ Redick is trying to execute on that given night. Surely, if Vando were to ever find time in the rotation, this would be the night.
And, to my joy — I’ve been advocating that Vanderbilt get a serious look in the rotation since before training camp started — it was indeed the night. With 3:26 remaining in the first quarter, Vanderbilt subbed in for Walker Kessler, sliding into the front court next to Sandro Mamukelashvili and flanking a three-guard lineup of Austin Reaves, Colin Sexton, and Quentin Grimes.
When Vanderbilt entered the game, the Clippers had just taken a 19-14 lead and were in the midst of a 12-2 run. Over the remainder of the quarter, the Lakers stabilized and outscored their crosstown counterparts to carry a 25-22 margin into the second frame.
Over the remainder of his shift, Vanderbilt’s fingerprints were all over the place. On one of his first possessions, he helped create a particularly chaotic sequence, fighting for an offensive rebound that ultimately got tipped away, hustling into a scrum for the loose ball and then helping to punch the ball up so Austin could recover the ball. However, Austin then threw the ball away for a turnover, so Vando pressured up on the ball-handler to tip the ball out of bounds and allow the Lakers to set their defense.
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Then, in the second quarter, he had several good sequences defending Brook Lopez, once fighting extremely hard to front the post and deny an entry pass, and later defending him in isolation and sticking with him on a drive…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jarred-vanderbilt-showed-why-more-174936074.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-30 17:49:00
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