The Los Angeles Lakers announced on May 9 that Jarred Vanderbilt, who suffered a right finger dislocation in Game 1, has been upgraded to available for Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Head coach JJ Redick confirmed Vanderbilt’s status before the game.
Vanderbilt’s return comes after what was described as a severe injury, with his bone breaking through the skin during a block attempt. Medical staff had to reconstruct his pinky finger following the incident. Despite initial expectations that he would miss the remainder of the series due to the quick turnaround between games, Vanderbilt is set to rejoin his teammates on the court.
Redick has used Vanderbilt sparingly this season but highlighted his defensive skills as valuable assets against Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. With Marcus Smart taking on significant defensive duties and Jake LaRavia not contributing substantial minutes this postseason, Redick turned to rookie Adou Thiero in Game 2. Thiero played six minutes and contributed with rebounding and physicality off the bench.
Now that Vanderbilt is back, he is expected to provide more experience and basketball intelligence compared to Thiero. However, questions remain about how Oklahoma City will defend him given his limited offensive impact; opponents often leave him open when he is on offense.
As Los Angeles trails 2-0 in the series against the defending champions, Redick may consider shortening his bench for Game 3 scheduled for Saturday night. When asked about areas where improvement is needed, Redick said: “defensive rebounding and taking care of the ball,” which were also points of emphasis during their first-round matchup with Houston.