(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Ahead of Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, with LeBron James and company having won five straight games, which is their best win streak of the 2023-24 campaign so far.
Along with the Lakers starting to come together on the basketball floor in the final stretch of the regular season, the team appears to be getting healthier, with guard Gabe Vincent expected to return on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets and Jarred Vanderbilt potentially coming back before the end of the regular season.
Injuries have taken their toll on the Lakers once again this season, resulting in an up-and-down year for the storied franchise, but the tide might be turning in Los Angeles.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Vanderbilt could return as early as the first week of April, via Legion Hoops.
“The Lakers are targeting early April for the return of Jarred Vanderbilt,” Buha said. “First week/week and a half.”
“The Lakers are targeting early April for the return of Jarred Vanderbilt. First week/week and a half…”
– The Athletic’s @jovanbuha
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 29, 2024
With superstar forward/center Anthony Davis playing at an incredibly high level right now, as the team’s best offensive and defensive player, the Lakers getting Vanderbilt back on the floor will vastly improve their chances of being successful in the Play-In Tournament if that’s where the team ends up.
Vanderbilt is the team’s best on-ball defender, which makes the Lakers that much more dynamic defensively, which is arguably the missing piece to the puzzle for Los Angeles right now.
If Vanderbilt can return before the start of the Play-In Tournament, the Lakers could be a very dangerous team during the postseason.
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