Jarred Vanderbilt

Jarred Vanderbilt sent out a tweet after the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks.

They're one game behind the New Orleans Pelicans (30-31) for a play-in slot (seeds 7-10) and 2½ games behind the Dallas Mavericks (32-30) for a top-six spot.

The Lakers face three teams in the critical four to 13 range of the West, teams they need to surpass for their stated goal of getting the No. But if the Lakers can manage a healthy lineup against the Thunder, Timberwolves and Warriors, they have to continue asserting their dominance and stacking wins to finally make a standings move. QUOTABLE: Have to appreciate the honesty from Vanderbilt on the key to his 17-rebound night: “Obviously, there were a lot of rebounds on the table. [per Cleaning The Glass](http://enews.newsletters.dailynews.com/q/6fWTVqf6uE0X5pEplR3KmshFXNznJP8bOBfZcOJdG1vb3JlMkBzY25nLmNvbcOIAPt0ye-rcYUmLfba98rf9fAH-cQ)), Davis and Vanderbilt have a plus-18.8 net rating. Between the two of them, the Lakers might have their hands full looking for playmaking in the coming slate. In the last two games filling in for an injured D’Angelo Russell, Schröder has been a steady hand at starting guard: 29 points, 14 assists (against four turnovers), a perfect 10 for 10 from the free-throw line (he made the last two against Dallas). His biggest liability is defense: The team is minus-179 in Walker’s minutes this year, by far a team low for plus-minus rating. The back line of the Lakers is now 6-foot-9 and taller, with plenty of athleticism to go around. Russell might be the best option at starting point guard, but until he’s able to return, the Lakers could do a lot worse than Schröder. As of Monday morning, the Lakers (29-32) are in 12th place in the Western Conference standings, and they are 13½ games behind the first-place Denver Nuggets (43-19). OK, Vando, how do you want to guard it?’ And make it as comfortable as we can for all three of us, if all three of us are in the action. While James played well enough down the stretch to help the Lakers win, he had a nasty limp on the way out of American Airlines Center that should make fans a little nervous about the other shoe dropping – so to speak.

Everything everywhere all at once, the 23-year-old showcased his entire arsenal in the Lakers' comeback over the Mavericks.

His third quarter and game in its entirety against Dallas was a perfect example of why. Eight of those points and rebounds came in the pivotal third quarter alone. He knows how to play off it with his corner cutting and crashing into the glass and getting us extra possessions,” And yet, with no physical boxout given, Vanderbilt again crashes in and secures the rebound over multiple Mavericks. On a team that is still top-heavy, but more balanced now after the trade deadline, any contributions they receive from their forward on the stat sheet will typically be just icing on the cake. There is value also in the manner it happened. The play eventually breaks down, and although Vanderbilt will not be credited for it, that momentarily lunge made all the difference. The Lakers would eventually go on to become the first team this season to overcome a deficit of 27 points or more and win. [said](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2023/2/26/23616225/anthony-davis-lebron-james-jarred-vanderbilt-lakers-mavs-comeback-second-half) of Vanderbilt, “when you’re not great at something, teams are able to use that to their advantage defensively. Like a bull seeing red however, once Vanderbilt sees backs of jerseys, he storms into the paint either for a timely cut or offensive rebound. Once securing the miss, he helps initiate the early offense chances and ultimately gets rewarded for his efforts. When James instead misses the shot, Vanderbilt keeps the possession alive, which ultimately leads to second-chance points.

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd spoke on the impact Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt had on the game.

Vanderbilt spoke about Doncic getting into a rhythm and being impossible to stop once he’s in the zone so he did everything he could to prevent him from getting there. Vanderbilt’s defensive versatility has helped the Lakers tremendously as he gives the team a primary defender on the league’s toughest superstars to guard and Luka is at or near the top of the list in that regard. He finished with 15 points, 17 rebounds and four steals while being the primary defender on Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic most of the night.

It looked like the good vibes for the Los Angeles Lakers were going to end as they fell behind by 27 points in the first half to the Dallas Mavericks on ...

They then return home to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. After a slow start shooting the basketball, Davis went to work in the paint using his physicality and length for easy buckets while also hitting shots over shorter defenders. The star big man capped off his afternoon with a tough jumper over Luka Doncic that gave the Lakers enough breathing room to seal the win. Vanderbilt was the catalyst on both ends of the floor, finishing near the basket, grabbing rebounds and taking the challenge of guarding Luka Doncic. Previously, the league was 0-138 when facing such a deficit. The Lakers’ win is the first time during the 2022-23 season that a team was able to win when trailing by 27 points.

Los Angeles Lakers wing Jarred Vanderbilt enjoys the challenge of guarding superstars like Dallas Mavericks guard Jarred Vanderbilt.

So I knew he was gonna get tired but my thing was just get up in him and force him to drive and just be physical with him and make him uncomfortable. Obviously shots weren’t falling early on for us so we were able to get out and run and crash the glass and get some steals, force some turnovers and that kind of just changed the game for us.” It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more! “I really was just trying to up the intensity, be a little bit more physical. So I was trying to disrupt that and just pick him up 94, just making him work. Vanderbilt was everywhere for the Lakers, finishing with 15 points, 17 rebounds (eight offensive) and four steals in 27 minutes.