The Los Angeles Lakers have been solid early in the season, starting hot with a 17-7 record, which has them in fourth place in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, the team has faced injuries throughout their time so far, with LeBron James out early, and now, it’s Austin Reaves. With him reportedly going down, head coach JJ Redick is likely to make changes.

“The continual failure of things has a shelf life,” Redick told the media after practice. “I have a belief in the rotation. We essentially started that group, [Deandre Ayton] for Jaxson [Hayes], for much of last year’s run when we were the number one defense in the league.”

The Lakers, despite being a top-10 offense in the league with a 119.3 offensive rating, have a bottom-10 defense with a 117.7 defensive rating, and have struggled to hold opponents to lower scoring numbers.

They have only managed to keep three opponents below 110 points all season, and this inability to stop the best players on the other teams is what limits them from being among the top-level championship favorites.

This is where Jarred Vanderbilt comes in. The 26-year-old forward arrived in LA in 2023 and helped them reach the Conference Finals with hard-nosed defensive effort, starting 13 games alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

However, fast-forward to the present day, and despite being healthy, he has received nine DNPs in the last 10 games, particularly due to his offensive ineptitude.

Vanderbilt is severely limited on offense, with his only major ability being rim finishing; even then, he’s not a ball-handler, relying instead on cuts and timely passes.

Teams don’t respect his shot, and sag off him to cut off lanes. The forward is shooting 26.7% from three, which is worse than his career average of 28.6%.

However, Redick indicated that with Reaves going out, he’s not ruling out the possibility of Vanderbilt playing. When asked by a reporter if the non-shooting will be a deal-breaker in this stretch with continued defensive issues, the coach said:

“If this continues, he’ll definitely get his opportunities.”

Austin Reaves’ Injury Forces JJ Redick’s Hand Earlier Than Planned

Any plan that JJ Redick made now has to account for Austin Reaves being sidelined. The undrafted guard has been diagnosed with a left calf strain and is set to be reevaluated in one week. Moreover, he will miss the team’s games against the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz.

Reaves has been outstanding for the Lakers throughout the season, averaging 27.8 points per game with 5.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists. He has carried the team throughout stretches without Luka Doncic and LeBron James, logging 39 points and 9.6 assists across four games.

Now that he is out, the Lakers could opt for a more defensively oriented lineup, swapping him with Marcus Smart at the guard spot, or switching to a larger lineup by moving James and Rui Hachimura up one spot and starting Vanderbilt.

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Doncic and Hachimura have never been known for defense, and James is older and slower, which means Deandre Ayton is the only solid defender left in the starting lineup, and he needs to protect the paint.

With either Smart or Vanderbilt in, this could add a wrinkle to the Lakers‘ defense, and how the Lakers navigate this stretch will define their approach once Reaves returns.