The LA Lakers are off to a rough start this season. With four losses in five games and with LeBron James sidelined for several weeks, the Lakers’ challenges continue to mount. Adding to head coach JJ Redick’s concerns, forward Jarred Vanderbilt, one of the team’s top defenders, had to exit a game early due to a left quadriceps injury. Initial reports on his condition are worrying, delivering yet another setback to the struggling squad.

For a team trying to prioritize health this season, the Los Angeles Lakers are now facing an early setback after their latest preseason game. Just as Vanderbilt started to regain rhythm after suffering through injuries during the last two seasons, the injury has come as an unfortunate setback less than a week before the regular season starts.

What Happened to Vanderbilt?

Midway through the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks, Vanderbilt collided with Mavericks center Dereck Lively II while battling for a rebound. The knee-to-thigh impact left the Lakers forward limping, and he was ruled out later after a left quad contusion. Before leaving the game, Vanderbilt had played for 13 minutes, during which he contributed all-around, particularly on defense: 5 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block.

A contusion occurs when a blunt impact causes internal bleeding within the muscle, resulting in pain, stiffness, and swelling. Common in contact-heavy sports like basketball and football, it’s generally manageable with adequate rest and recovery. Given Vanderbilt’s recent injury history, the Lakers are expected to take extra precautions to ensure a full and safe recovery.

The 26-year-old played just 65 games (and started just 8) out of a possible 184 across the last two seasons due to a plethora of lower-body issues, and the team understands how important his health is for their defense.

Impact on the Lakers’ rotation and strategy

In Vanderbilt’s absence, the Lakers could be forced to rethink their forward rotation. Currently, he backs up the more scoring-focused Rui Hachimura, who is expected to pick up more minutes in Vando’s absence. Expect Rui to take more of Vanderbilt’s defensive assignments until he returns. Beyond Hachimura, Maxi Kleber could become a mainstay, especially due to his ability to stretch the floor at the four spot. Los Angeles could maintain offensive flow without Vanderbilt’s slashing and cutting.

Vanderbilt also ran a considerable amount of small-ball center last year, but with a consistent center through the addition of Deandre Ayton, along with already present backup Jaxson Hayes, his rim defense and size might not be missed as much, despite losses in perimeter defense. If head coach JJ Redick opts to run small-ball again, we could see either LeBron James or Rui made to play center, with Dalton Knecht or Jake LaRavia sliding in at the wing. Both forwards are young and good three-point shooters, but are unlikely to match the impact Vanderbilt had on defense and rebounding.

Defensively, the loss of Vanderbilt’s versatility is going to put heavier workloads on LeBron and Rui in the starting lineup, who are going to have to work more to keep up with younger, more athletic wings. The Lakers could compensate by running more zone sets or by running dual-big to help their rebounding. Offensively, stretching the floor remains the priority, using LaRavia or Kleber to stretch defenses while opening driving lanes for Austin Reaves or Luka Doncic.

Update on Vanderbilt availability

During the game, it was revealed that Vanderbilt would be forced to sit out the rest of the preseason matchup, but head coach JJ Redick did not seem to be worried by the injury. After the match, he noted, “I believe he took a knee to the quad… He can be a really impactful guy on both ends. You can see, he’s moving better than he was last season. You can clearly tell he’s spent a lot of time working on his game this summer.”

Adding onto his comments from a few days ago, Redick also spoke on Vando’s role last year, stating, “I put him in a tough spot last year, by necessity of playing him at the five, and having him be able to guard multiple positions on the perimeter, be a crasher, and hopefully a high-level corner spacer, and a cutter. And I like him as a playmaker. He can make the right read, and I thought he did a good job tonight.”

As the team awaits further updates, Redick and his staff will use the final preseason matchup against the Kings to solidify contingency plans depending on how long Vanderbilt will be out. LA must understand that despite the injury being dismissed by the head coach, with LeBron also set to miss time, every piece can change the picture in their chase of contention.