The return of Jarred Vanderbilt in recent weeks has shown the Los Angeles Lakers what they were missing when he was out for nearly a year.
Vanderbilt isn’t gonna fill up the statsheet, but what he is gonna do is all the little things and dirty work, especially on the defensive end of the floor, that other players aren’t typically willing to do.
The thing about this Lakers team though is they have a number of guys that have the same mentality as Vanderbilt, which is why they have been able to find so much success with LeBron James and Luka Doncic in recent weeks.
“I love it. That’s the culture we’re trying to set,” Vanderbilt said after
Tuesday night’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. “Having multiple ‘dawgs,’ multiple gritty guys that’s gonna go out there and put their body on the line, fight, play hard, defend and do all the dirty work. Having guys like Trey by me, Doe and even Gabe from that second unit coming in and just being dawgs.”
Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith have led the way in that regard, leading to someone giving them the nickname Vincent Van Doe.
That nickname was brought to Vanderbilt’s attention and he loves it because it fits their mindsets perfectly.
“I just seen it, they just showed me… I like it,” he said. “It’s funny, Gabe was at my locker and just showed it to me. I thought it was pretty dope and had a little painting behind it too. But yeah, that’s our job. That’s what we come in and do. Play hard, get extra possessions, do all the dirty work.
“We’ve been setting the tone on that end for quite some time now. Amongst each other, before the game starts, obviously the starters start and the bench mob, we have a pep talk with each other and that’s our job to come in and set the tone and be the defensive guys and do the dirty work. So we’ve been doing a great job. Shoutout to them guys, man. Doe, Gabe, Trey, that whole second unit, even DK stepping up. It was a great team effort.”
The Lakers’ bench unit, notable Vanderbilt and Trey Jemison, have shown that they won’t back down from anyone, often getting into skirmishes to have their teammates’ backs. Vanderbilt spoke about creating that culture and how Jemison has fit in.
“Super important. I know Trey, being a young player, I told him that’s a big role for him, you know what I mean? Being our enforcer, being our big guy, bringing that energy every single night,” Vanderbilt said.
“That’s how you’re gonna make a statement in this league, or at least a start. And then obviously once he continues to develop, he can develop other stuff for his game. But that’s what we need him to do on this team and he’s been bring that every night. Being that enforcer, whether it’s setting hard screens, getting rebounds, being physical, or just not letting anybody try one of us and bully us in a sense. So just having that toughness, that edge and us being aggressive to start instead of waiting for them to attack us. So yeah, shoutout to Trey.”
Jarred Vanderbilt: Lakers haven’t hit our peaks yet
The Lakers are currently playing their best basketball having won seven straight games, although Jarred Vanderbilt still thinks they can be even better.
“I see that we’re not even at our peak yet and the fact that we’re still managing to figure it out each and every game coming together and just grinding out wins and we’re not even at our peak,” he said. “Obviously Luka and new additions, still trying to adapt to him and he’s still getting more comfortable and guys are playing new roles or different roles. But we’re just getting it done.
“Everybody is buying into the role that they’re assigned right now and we’re kind of just all on a string. For us to be putting out this type of product right now and we’re not even at our peak or fully connected I would say, that’s just a testament to guys just buying in. We all got one common goal and everybody is just locked in right now.”
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