Jarred Vanderbilt is looking to establish himself in the Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation, and the veteran forward believes his rebounding and physicality could be exactly what the team needs.
After missing the first four games of the regular season, Vanderbilt finally got his opportunity in Los Angeles’ 103-87 victory over the Clippers last week.
With the Lakers struggling to control the glass early in the season, Vanderbilt believes he can make an immediate difference, according to Khobi Price of the California Post.
“Just the rebounding aspect, the physicality aspect,” Vanderbilt said. “Whether that’s boxing out, securing rebounds, finishing possessions. Obviously on the offensive glass, too. Just putting pressure on the rim and offensive glass, two areas I feel like I could contribute to.”
Vanderbilt also explained how his energy can influence the rest of the lineup, particularly when it comes to defensive intensity and doing the little things.
“Even when I get out there, obviously just flying around and causing chaos, crashing the boards and kind of propelled [Quentin Grimes] and Collin [Sexton to] start picking up full court,” Vanderbilt said. “Jake [LaRavia] started crashing. It’s contagious when everybody’s boxing out. You don’t want to be the one guy that’s not boxing out and your man gets the rebound. So it kind of puts that pressure on everybody to just lock in, box out and do all the dirty work that’s required.”
Head coach JJ Redick was particularly impressed with Vanderbilt’s defensive effort and his ability to play alongside Sandro Mamukelashvili.
“Yeah, it was good,” Redick said. “I think we had (Vanderbilt) on Lopez. He did a great job. We showed a clip a halftime of fronting him in the post and not allowing him to get the basketball. Vando is always gonna play hard, he’s always gonna impact the game with just his effort. I thought he did that tonight. The pairing with Mamu is probably the best pairing in terms of having another big out there that can space and shoot and play-make.”
With Kevon Looney struggling early in the season, Vanderbilt now has an opportunity to push for a more consistent role in Redick’s rotation.
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