The Los Angeles Lakers announced that forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been ruled out of the second half of Wednesday’s preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks due to a left quad contusion.
Vanderbilt hurt his quad towards the end of the first half when he bumped into Mavericks center Dereck Lively II. He stayed in the game to finish out the half but clearly wasn’t moving well. He then did not come out to the court for the second half before eventually being ruled out for the night.
The hope is that Vanderbilt being ruled out is just precautionary. He looked like he could have continued playing but there is no reason to risk it in the preseason.
In 13 minutes of action before being ruled out, Vanderbilt filled up the statsheet with five points, seven rebounds, four assists and one block on 2-of-4 shooting. He connected on 1-of-2 shots from 3-point range.
Considering it was the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers were already shorthanded against the Mavericks with only 10 players suiting up before the Vanderbilt injury.
Vanderbilt had looked great to start the preseason after having his first healthy offseason in a while. With Opening Night less than a week away on Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors, Vanderbilt’s status will now be worth monitoring.
Jarred Vanderbilt prepared for change in role
Jarred Vanderbilt found himself playing a lot of center for the Lakers last season, but this offseason he prepared for more of a role guarding the perimeter given the team’s roster construction.
“I mean, here nor there,” Vanderbilt said of the difference. “It kind of fluctuated between five or 10 pounds, but me having that conversation this summer that I was going to be on the perimeter a little more allowed me to slim up a little bit more. Not saying I probably won’t spend some time at four, five, but just majority on the perimeter. It’s a different body weight in a sense. Being able to chase around, flying around guards as opposed to banging down here with bigs. I like where I’m at right now.”
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