{"id":119546,"date":"2025-01-22T14:47:44","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=119546"},"modified":"2025-01-22T14:47:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:47:44","slug":"lakers-jarred-vanderbilt-return-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/22\/lakers-jarred-vanderbilt-return-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Lakers Forward Cleared to Return After Lengthy Absence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers will be receiving a key boost in the frontcourt this weekend. After nearly a year away from the court, wing Jarred Vanderbilt has the green light to return to action, making his season debut this Saturday against the Golden State Warriors, according to ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Los Angeles Lakers F Jarred Vanderbilt has been medically cleared to make his season debut on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors on ABC, barring any unforeseen setbacks, sources tell ESPN. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FXP9eP4PhC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/FXP9eP4PhC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1882134405315203105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><b>Key Lakers Forward Cleared to Return After Lengthy Absence<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Background<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vanderbilt last played on Feb. 1, 2024, against the Celtics, when he recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. A right foot sprain then kept him out for the rest of the season. Vando then underwent two offseason foot surgeries, including the <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com.au\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/43522022\/sources-lakers-jarred-vanderbilt-cleared-season-debut-sat#:~:text=He%20underwent%20procedures%20on%20both,fluid%20in%20his%20left%20knee.\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">removal of a bone spur in his left foot<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Fluid in his left knee, an issue discovered in December, further hindered his rehabilitation process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prior to his absence, the former Kentucky forward averaged 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals. He shot 51.8% from the field, 29.6% from three and 66.7% from the free-throw line.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>How Vanderbilt Fits into Current Lakers Roster<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers have made a myriad of changes since Vanderbilt last put on a jersey\u2014the biggest being the summertime hiring of JJ Redick. Redick has said that Vanderbilt, known primarily as a ball-stopper, will play a key role in the Lakers\u2019 defensive coverages, going as far as to cater a <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mcten\/status\/1845203493818335716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1845203493818335716%7Ctwgr%5E71e7be031adaa1fe162421fa64b01a53e60ec7a4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flebronwire.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnba%2F2024%2F10%2F12%2Fjj-redick-on-jarred-vanderbilts-ramp-up-process%2F75655747007%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201czone defensive package\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> specifically for him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aside from new leadership, Vanderbilt also returns to a team with a couple of new faces: former <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/30\/grade-the-trade-lakers-acquire-finney-smith-updated-cap-picks\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nets<\/span><\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/finnedo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dorian Finney-Smith<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/miltosh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shake Milton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who were acquired via trade last month. Though Milton\u2019s role has fluctuated among the Lakers\u2019 many guards, Finney-Smith has started to fill the 3&amp;D role the team had lacked for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throwing Vanderbilt into the equation boosts both the Lakers\u2019 bench unit and their defense as a whole. Vando has already displayed a laudable amount of pride on the defensive end, willing to check opposing guards, wings and bigs\u2014including <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/warriorswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nba\/warriors\/2023\/09\/19\/lakers-jarred-vanderbilt-recently-spoke-about-what-its-like-to-guard-steph-curry-in-the-playoffs\/76247416007\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">star players<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He has also shown tremendous comfortability in a lineup with <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LeBron James<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, playing his ball-stopping role to a tee when it comes to closing tight contests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As things stand now, Vanderbilt will likely revert to his backup power forward slot behind Davis, giving the team a needed reinforcement behind AD and his stellar production so far. His play alongside Finney-Smith in particular could give the Lakers a formidable frontcourt duo, with Vanderbilt being more defensive-oriented while DFS balances his workload on both ends of the floor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the Lakers still have a ways to go before they\u2019re considered true championship contenders, Vanderbilt\u2019s highly-anticipated return gives them a necessary lift at exactly the right time.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lakers will be receiving a key boost in the frontcourt this weekend. After nearly a year away from the court, wing Jarred Vanderbilt has the green light to return to action, making his season debut this Saturday against the Golden State Warriors, according to ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania. Los Angeles Lakers F Jarred Vanderbilt has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":113251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[240,2272,2941,2279,38,3811],"class_list":["post-119546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-anthony-davis","tag-dorian-finney-smith","tag-jarred-vanderbilt","tag-jj-redick","tag-lebron-james","tag-shake-milton"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119546"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119556,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119546\/revisions\/119556"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}