Darvin Ham Laments Tough Road Ahead for Lakers With Jarred Vanderbilt Out

Other players will need to step up in his absence.

The Los Angeles Lakers received extremely unfortunate news regarding forward Jarred Vanderbilt recently. He will now be out for an extended period of time due to injury, and the Lakers' injury woes continue.

Vanderbilt hurt his foot against the Boston Celtics last week, and there is some thought that he could miss the rest of the season. This is a massive blow to the Lakers' chances this year, as Vanderbilt was an important piece to their roster construction.

He took on some of the toughest defensive matchups on the floor, and he looked like he had just been coming into his own on the court. Vanderbilt missed the first bit of the season while recovering from a different injury.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham spoke about the injury and the difficult road ahead for this team.

“It’s like, laughing, but it’s not a joking matter,” Ham said before the game. “It’s been the story of our season.”



Per Darvin Ham via The Athletic

Injuries have been the story of the season for the Lakers, as they haven't had their full team all year. It's caused them to drop multiple games throughout the year, and we haven't been able to see them in their final form.

Without Vanderbilt going forward, others are going to need to step up in his absence. Forward Cam Reddish is also out for a period of time with an injury, so the road just got even tougher for Los Angeles.

“It’s going to take a committee,” Ham said. “It just can’t be one or two people that bring what he brought.”

Per Darvin Ham via The Athletic

The Lakers will need to manage in the best way that they can for now. The hope is that both Vanderbilt and Reddish can come back strong, and Los Angeles will get their wing depth back for the stretch run.