Coming into this season, perimeter defense was a big concern for the Los Angeles Lakers. After their 132-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Wednesday’s Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinal round game, that concern has gone from something conceptual to a real-life, flesh-and-bones problem.
In that game, San Antonio played nearly 48 minutes of fast-break basketball and sliced up the Lakers’ defense on the move like a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon performing a reconstructive facelift. It tallied 27 fast-break points and shot 17-of-38 from 3-point range, and the game was a reality check for a Lakers team that has an excellent 17-7 record but isn’t universally considered a championship contender.
Los Angeles has a glaring lack of above-average perimeter defenders. One of the few exceptions is forward Jarred Vanderbilt, but he has made just one appearance for a grand total of three minutes in the team’s last 10 games.
Head coach JJ Redick said the team is “looking at everything” as far as improving defensively. One reporter asked if a player such as Vanderbilt, who is a weak outside shooter and very limited offensively, could see his lack of offense become less of an issue given the Lakers’ defensive problems. Redick responded by implying that Vanderbilt could return to the rotation, at least in spurts.
“If this continues, he’ll definitely get his opportunities,” Redick said.
Vanderbilt quickly became a fan favorite when he arrived in a mid-season trade in February 2023 due to his versatile, aggressive defense and willingness to hit the boards and hustle. But by that year’s playoffs, he saw his playing time go down because of his inability to contribute offensively. That inability has seemingly put him in the netherworld of being too deficient to get major playing time but being too capable in other areas to never get any real playing time.
So far this season, he’s averaging 4.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 17.3 minutes a game while shooting 43.1% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range.