The Los Angeles Lakers released their injury report for Saturday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors and Jarred Vanderbilt is not on it. Vanderbilt has missed nearly a year of action due to foot injuries but the expectation is that he will be active and available against the Warriors for the first time this season.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick cautioned that considering how much time Vanderbilt has missed, it remains to be seen if he will get in the game on Saturday. The Lakers are taking things slow with the forward’s rehab process to ensure he is 100% healthy and doesn’t suffer any setbacks.
The fact that Vanderbilt should be available against Golden State though is great news as his defense has been greatly missed so far this season. With a couple of weeks until the trade deadline, the Lakers will have some time to assess where Vanderbilt is at before deciding what their biggest needs are.
Between Vanderbilt, Dorian Finney-Smith, Max Christie, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht, the Lakers are likely set on the wing.
Elsewhere on the Lakers’ injury report, LeBron James (left foot injury management) and Anthony Davis (right calf soreness) are listed as probably while Jalen Hood-Schifino (left hamstring strain) and Christian Wood (left knee surgery recovery) remain out.
With Vanderbilt’s impending return, Wood is the only key Lakers players that remains out as the team is currently the healthiest it has been all season.
Jarred Vanderbilt describes rehab process
It’s been a long process for Jarred Vanderbilt to get back on the court for the Lakers as he last played in a game on Feb. 1, 2024. While the hope was that he would be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season, that never came to fruition and Vanderbilt explained why the process was such a long one.
“I wouldn’t say it was hiccups, it was just part of the process,” Vanderbilt said. “We had a plan in place and it wasn’t more timetable-based, it was more so about measurement-based. Like, what can I do if I pass this and we kind of keep progressing. So honestly, I wouldn’t say it was a hiccup. It wasn’t really as much of a timetable. It was just what I could do and keep advancing and progressing.”
Now that Vanderbilt has crossed all of the boxes necessary for a return, the final test will be playing in an NBA game as that speed can not be replicated elsewhere.
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