Vanderbilt made his much-awaited comeback to the team's rotation, and he didn't disappoint in helping the Lakers' Sunday win against the Suns.
J.J. Redick loved everything he saw from Jarred Vanderbilt as the Los Angeles Lakers pulled a 116-114 escape victory over the Phoenix Suns this Sunday.
Jarred Vanderbilt
Jarred Vanderbilt
Jarred Vanderbilt
MIN: 17.19
PTS: 4.44 (54.55%)
REB: 5.31
As: 1.38
ST: 1
BL: 0.38
TO: 1.38
GM: 16
In his postgame presser, the Lakers head coach offered his praise on Vanderbilt's readiness and professionalism to contribute as the 26-year-old returned to the team's rotation.
"I told him that he was going to play yesterday. I told him he was going to play, and it’s not like he wasn’t in the right headspace. He helped win us the game, full stop," Redick said.
"He helped win us the game, and I’m really happy for him because the weight of not playing is a lot for a player."
Inactive and collecting DNPs for most of the games this season, Vanderbilt earned the nod from Redick to play this weekend.
As such, the defensive specialist made the most out of his playing opportunities for Los Angeles. And with Austin Reaves out, Vanderbilt enjoyed 15 minutes of play as he finished with seven points and seven boards.
He also tallied two steals and a block, becoming a pest defensively against Devin Booker, Collin Gillespie and Dillon Brooks.
It remains to be seen if Vanderbilt will finally be back permanently in the Lakers' rotation board, but Redick is simply happy with how the forward played well and answered his call.
"We had an earlier conversation about being disruptive within our system and our schemes, and he was that tonight—super disruptive," Redick added about Vanderbilt. "He did a great job with all of his switching. When he did switch, he switched up, used his length, and was in great shifts. Whether it was deflections or steals, all of that stood out. Offensively, cutting, crashing, and getting to the next action, he made a huge corner three in the fourth as well.
"He stayed in his role tonight. He was awesome."
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