When Jarred Vanderbilt injured himself after the first preseason game and missed extended time, the Los Angeles Lakers missed his presence on the defensive end.
Once he returned from injury, Vanderbilt came off the bench and played limited minutes. But, he eventually got the starting nod against the Oklahoma City Thunder and seems to be working his way back to game shape.
Now two games into the new starting lineup, there have been some concerns in terms of spacing and ball-handling, but Vanderbilt thinks the lineup needs time to mesh.
“It felt good. Obviously short sample size. We finally got to have our first practice with that lineup so having that lineup out there with no practice, I think it was pretty solid,” Vanderbilt said. “But now that we’re starting to put some sets in and build some chemistry with that lineup with a couple practices, I think it will only get better.”
On Christmas Day, the Boston Celtics were helping off Vanderbilt and Cam Reddish due to their lack of shooting and loading up on LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Vanderbilt mentioned he and the other starters have to be aggressive and ready to score.
“I would say just being aggressive. Whether it’s cutting or driving or whatever the case may be, be ready to catch and shoot. Just continuing to move around Bron and AD, not just me, but TP and Cam, all of us, to kind of make the game easier for them whether it’s cutting, slashing, making open shots.”
“I think the more aggressive we are and even getting out in transition will help too, which starts on the defensive end. So I think that will help us get off to a better start.”
December is now winding down, which has been a challenging month for the team due to the increased travel and road games. However, Vanderbilt believes having a rare practice will help everyone settle back in.
“Like today, starting with a good practice. I think going back to the In-Season Tournament and our traveling and stuff, we haven’t had many practices. So this was a much-needed efficient practice that kind of brings us together,” he said. “I think usually that’s what practices do, when you’re getting off track, you kind of come back and settle in. So I think this practice was huge for us. Also, us having a home stretch coming in January with a little bit less travel will allow us to practice more. I think that’s a big component for us right now.”
Next month will feature a lot more home games for the Lakers, which will seemingly greatly benefit the team as they have been good at Crypto.com Arena.
After winning the In-Season Tournament, it has been a downward trend and for a team wanting to win a championship, things need to turn around sooner rather than later. This starting lineup will continuously be under a microscope, but Vanderbilt seems confident that they can be successful.
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