After losing to the San Antonio Spurs 132-119 on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round of the Emirates NBA Cup on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers will play a “make-up” game on Sunday. That game will take place against the Phoenix Suns, who got waxed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the same quarterfinal round, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
This game will give the Lakers an opportunity to start addressing the issues that the Spurs exposed on Wednesday, including transition defense, the inability to stop the ball at the point of attack and late rotations out to 3-point shooters following dribble penetration.
For Sunday’s contest, Austin Reaves will be out due to a calf strain, and he will be re-evaluated in about a week. Big man Maxi Kleber will also sit out due to a back ailment.
The absence of both players, particularly Kleber, seems to create a distinct possibility that forward Jarred Vanderbilt could get back into L.A.’s rotation, at least temporarily, something that coach JJ Redick mentioned this week.
Vanderbilt has appeared in just one of the team’s last 10 games for a total of three minutes. While he’s very limited offensively, he’s an effective defender who can guard positions 1 through 4, as well as a strong rebounder who can play with ample energy.