Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood offer realistic timeline from injury return as Lakers training camp gets underway
LA Lakers forward and center Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood have provided a realistic timeline from their injury return as the team gears up for the upcoming season. Earlier, it was reported that both players would miss the initial few games of the season as they continue to recover from their foot and knee injuries, respectively.
Vanderbilt was limited to 29 games last season after a foot injury limited his time on the floor. On Media Day, he did answer that he was "not sure" about his availability for the Lakers' season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 22.
"Very excited about getting back to playing and staying healthy. I feel great. The process has been going great. ... Everything has been on a great pace and great scheduling. Everything feels good," he said.
Wood's update sounded a tad more optimistic:
“Things are going good. I think I’m doing better this time around, my second rehab is going well. About to start ramping things up in maybe about two weeks and then I think it’s gonna take maybe another two weeks to try and get back in game shape. I’m thankful that I did the surgery almost immediately when I had the problem with my knee. I think I’ll be back sooner rather than later.”
The Lakers head into the season with a depleted frontcourt, so if Wood can return early into the season, it would mean a huge advantage for LA. In the interim, Jaxson Hayes will be Anthony Davis' backup while two-way bigs Christian Koloko and Colin Castleton are likely to see some minutes as well. As for Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura will play forward until the former returns to action.
"He can change the energy of an entire game" - JJ Redick had earlier weighed in on Jarred Vanderbilt's impact on the Lakers
Earlier, LA Lakers head coach JJ Redick had weighed in on what Jarred Vanderbilt would bring to the table for the Lakers. Speaking to LA's beat reporter Mike Trudell, he said:
"I think the unique thing about Jarred, and a number of really good teams that made deep playoff runs have guys like him, that are energy, defense, ball hawks. He can sort of … I call them energy shifters. He can change the energy of an entire game, and he doesn’t have to do it with scoring, which makes him really unique. I can’t wait to coach him. Obviously he has some rehab to do for the rest of the summer, but when he’s healthy, he’s going to be a big part of what we do.”
With this, it will be interesting to see what role Vanderbilt will be asked to take other than being asked to be the versatile defender he is. There was a phase in last season when Vanderbilt drained 3s at key instances, and with Redick leaning towards his players shooting 3s, it remains to be seen if he will be shooting from beyond the arc.