Lakers News

Jarred Vanderbilt says he relishes being able to guard the opposing team’s ‘best player 1 through 5’

Published by
Peter Dewey

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt spoke about taking on the challenge of guarding Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic following the team’s 111-108 win on Sunday.

Vanderbilt explained that he takes pride in being able to guard the other team’s best player, no matter what position he plays.

Vanderbilt helped hold Doncic to just 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting on Sunday in the Lakers’ win. By Doncic’s standards (he’s averaging well over 30 points per game), Sunday was a bit of a down performance.

The Lakers forward did a little bit of everything, posting a double-double in the process. He scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, grabbed a team-high 17 rebounds and came away with four steals.

It’s hard to find a more complete performance than Vanderbilt’s game on Sunday.

The Lakers acquired Vanderbilt in a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves at this season’s trade deadline. While guard D’Angelo Russell highlighted the return for the Lakers, Vanderbilt is proving that he can be an extremely valuable piece in the team’s rotation.

A lengthy defender and elite rebounder, Vanderbilt gives the Lakers a ton of flexibility on the defensive end of the floor. He’s not the greatest scorer in the world, but he plays his role very well.

With the Lakers angling for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, Vanderbilt’s defensive prowess should play a huge role.

Vanderbilt has the size to guard larger wings like Kevin Durant and the athleticism to stay with players like Doncic. The team may move his defensive assignment around as it sees fit if it makes the playoffs this season.

The Lakers are momentarily the No. 11 seed in the West after beating the Mavericks since the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers are still playing on Sunday.

If both teams lose, Los Angeles will stay in the No. 11 spot, just one game behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the final play-in tournament spot.

It’s great to see Vanderbilt buying into and thriving in his role even though he’s only been with the team for a few weeks. The Lakers are certainly counting on him, Russell and Malik Beasley to bring an added punch to the roster that it lacked earlier in the season.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

How this season’s D’Angelo Russell trade basically threw another potential Lakers trade ‘in the garbage’

The Los Angeles Lakers made a splash last month by trading veteran guard D’Angelo Russell…

January 11, 2025

Jarred Vanderbilt takes massive step towards returning to court for Lakers

Maybe no player for the Los Angeles Lakers has had worse injury luck over the…

January 10, 2025

Report: Lakers coach J.J. Redick lost his home in Southern California wildfires

Some folks in NBA circles have been impacted by the wildfires wreaking havoc in Southern…

January 9, 2025

Ex-teammate thinks Kobe started feeling like he was being asked to sacrifice too much in 2000-01 season alongside Shaq

When the start of the 2000-01 season rolled around for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe…

January 8, 2025

Report: Lakers have ‘no interest’ in trading Dalton Knecht or Rui Hachimura

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't interested in trading rookie Dalton Knecht or forward Rui Hachimura…

January 7, 2025

J.J. Redick provides encouraging update regarding Jarred Vanderbilt’s return to action

Los Angeles Lakers head coach J.J. Redick provided a positive update on forward Jarred Vanderbilt…

January 6, 2025