Ahead of the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers‘ depth looked lethal on paper with versatility. However, the team is yet to utilize its full potential because of repeated injury scares. One of them is 24-year-old Jarred Vanderbilt. The LA side roped him in last season, on the trade deadline from the Utah Jazz. Ahead of this regular season, the star sustained an injury and missed all 20 games so far. The question is, will he be available for the Saturday night clash against the Houston Rockets?

The LA side hasn’t been in its greatest shape this season, barely staying afloat in the points table. One of the main reasons behind is the plaguing injuries. It’s not just Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and even superstar LeBron James aren’t 100% fit for the Saturday night encounter. Nevertheless, keeping other players aside, let’s look into Vanderbilt’s availability for tonight’s game.

Will Jarred Vanderbilt play tonight?

In the Lakers injury report available ahead of the Saturday game, the team had 5 players on the list, out of which three players are on probable’s list. Gabe Vincent is all set to miss his 17th game this season after sustaining a knee injury. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes are on the probable list, leaving LeBron James in a questionable status.

However, in the case of Jarred Vanderbilt, the Lakers seemed to have positive news.

Fortunately, Vanderbilt’s name is not on the injury report after 20 long games. Having missed the start of the season due to a left heel bursitis injury, it looks like the wing player is finally ready to participate in basketball activities. Moreover, a video clip of the star power forward, shooting baskets at the Crypto.com arena, two hours before the game, was featured on social media. So there could be a high possibility that he could make this season’s debut tonight.

Since the star is getting back on the court after a long gap, will he get a place in the starting line-up?

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The head coach Darvin Ham reportedly shed light on his plans on how he will play Vanderbilt ahead of the game.

Ham’s plan to play Vanderbilt

As the video clips of Jarred Vanderbilt participating in the shoot around surfaced on the internet, the reporters brought out coach Darvin Ham’s plan for the star as well. Michael Carvo, a reporter, shared Ham’s words in his recent tweet. Ham said, “We’re not just gonna throw him in the deep end of the pool just yet. Just slowly integrate him into the lineup and allow him to get his game legs under him. And then we’ll go from there.” 

So with the available information, Vanderbilt is expected to play minimum minutes on the court in tonight’s game.

What do you make of the Lakers’ continued injury trouble? Will the team peak at the right moment ahead of the playoffs? Let us know in the comments below.

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