It only took four-plus games and one glaring hole in the roster to get there, but at long last, Lakers coach JJ Redick finally did what fans and observers have been suggesting for much of the early season: He made a rotation move, putting Jarred Vanderbilt into Wednesday’s win over the Clippers, Vanderbilt’s first minutes of the NBA season.
Now, Vanderbilt probably showed exactly why Redick is reluctant to play him–other than some long-simmering player-coach issue going back to last year–because he was just 0-for-1 shooting with no points. But he had seven rebounds in 21 minutes, with two assists, and generally handled the backup minutes behind Walker Kessler competently. With Kevon Looney struggling to produce in that role previously, the fact that Vanderbilt (who was a plus-22 thanks in large part to the Lakers’ overall bench play) did more good than bad is a win for the Lakers.
Jarred Vanderbilt Praised for Defense
After the game, Redick met with Lakers reporters and hailed the effort shown by Vanderbilt in the game. He said he was impressed with Vanderbilt’s defense at the 5, especially how he fronted Brook Lopez to prevent entry passes. “We showed a clip at halftime of him fronting in the post and not allowing (Lopez) to get the basketball,” Redick said.
“Vando is always going to play hard. He’s always going to impact the game with just his effort. I thought he did that tonight.”
Will Lakers Stick With New Rotation?
Now, whether Redick sticks with Vanderbilt as the backup big man, pairing him with the offensive-minded Sandro Mamukelashvili, remains to be seen. One of the reasons that Redick has been reluctant to play Vanderbilt at center has been the simple fact that he’s not a center–he is most naturally a power forward, and has played more at the 3 in his career than at the 5.
As Redick said before the game: “My conversations with Vando last year were a lot about putting him in a position to succeed and wanted to play him less at the five. I think he’s better suited, obviously, to be more of a wing and a forward and be out on the perimeter defensively. But there’s going to be moments where he’s going to, by necessity, have to play some five.”
The 4-1 Lakers will move on now to play the Warriors again, in an NBA Cup game, in San Francisco on Friday at 10 p.m. ET.
Lakers Finally Make Their Move on Jarred Vanderbilt