Jarred Vanderbilt downgraded on injury report for Grizzlies clash

The injury hits for the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly keep coming as Jarred Vanderbilt was the latest player to appear on the team’s injury report ahead of their upcoming game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Jarred Vanderbilt was officially listed as questionable on the Lakers’ injury report for their game against the Grizzlies on Friday. Vanderbilt was listed as having right leg soreness. The Lakers are already without Austin Reaves (calf), Rui Hachimura (calf) and Gabe Vincent (back), and rookie forward Adou Thiero recently suffered an MCL sprain putting him out at least four weeks.

The Lakers have had to shuffle their lineup amid all the injuries they’ve suffered, making it a little more difficult to build on-court chemistry and cohesiveness. LeBron James missed the first 14 games of the season due to a nerve injury, and Luka Doncic has missed time with various ailments.

Amid the Lakers’ recent struggles, a stretch in which they’ve lost four of their last five games, Vanderbilt brings much of what head coach JJ Redick has been asking for, namely energy, effort and defense. When James returned to the lineup, Vanderbilt was squeezed out of the rotation.

But with the Lakers’ defensive struggles, Redick had no choice but to put him back in the rotation. Since Vanderbilt has been playing, he’s improved his 3-point shooting in addition to bringing his usual intensity on the defensive end. In his last seven games, Vanderbilt has shot 10-of-18 (55.5 percent) from the 3-point line.

Following the Lakers’ Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets, Vanderbilt spoke about the need for everyone on the roster to make the decision to bring energy and effort.

“It’s more of a will thing. I think everybody’s capable physically of crashing the glass, diving on the floor, it’s just a matter of effort and wanting to do that. I think that’s what separates a guy from getting the ball and not getting the ball,” Vanderbilt said. “Just having that mindset that, ‘I’m gonna fight for this ball and I’m gonna get it. . .I’m gonna crash the glass, I’m gonna sprint all the way back and guard.’ That’s a decision you have to make throughout the game.”

This season, Vanderbilt has appeared in 22 games, including two starts, at a little over 19 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 5.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 46.4 percent shooting from the field and 42.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line.

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