The Los Angeles Lakers came out of the gates swinging against the Phoenix Suns in tonight’s in-season tournament quarter-final. LeBron James and Co. took an early lead in the game, outscoring the Suns by 10 points in the first quarter. A major reason for the Lakers’ early success was their defensive effort and hustle. With one of their best two-way players, Jarred Vanderbilt, back in the line-up, the Lakers forced 10 Suns turnovers in the first quarter.

The NBA world was ecstatic about the Lakers’ first-quarter dominance and celebrated the return of the defensive menace Jarred Vanderbilt.

Fans hyped about Jarred Vanderbilt’s return

Jarred Vanderbilt finally recovered from his foot injury and made his highly anticipated season debut in the last game against the Rockets. The Lakers forward missed the first 20 games of the season due to heel bursitis. His impact was on full display in tonight’s game as he helped the Lakers gain an early lead over Kevin Durant and Co. with his defensive prowess.

LA forced 10 turnovers in the first quarter to take a 33-23 lead.

Fans loved every bit of Vando’s performance and congratulated him on his return. The official X account of Lakers Nation wrote, “Missed u, Vando <3”. The NBA world followed suit.

Fans were in awe of Vanderbilt’s defensive impact and thanked their stars that he was back in the Lakers line-up.

One fan even boasted about the Lakers lethal line-up of LeBron, Reaves, Vanderbilt, Hachimura, and AD.

Apart from Jarred Vanderbilt’s lockdown defense, another reason for the Lakers’ dominance was the scoring outburst by Anthony Davis. AD continued his dominant form and scored 14 of the Lakers’ 33 points in the first quarter. Defenders have had a tough time guarding AD in the last 6 games, and with Jarred Vanderbilt back in the line-up, he will get more freedom to dominate on offense.

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Why is “The Vandolorian” important for the Lakers’ success?

The return of Jarred Vanderbilt will play a big role in the Lakers’ success this season. Even though his contribution does not show up on the stat sheet, he does all the dirty work for the Lakers. Vando is not afraid to guard the best players on the court and he played a big part in helping the Lakers reach the Western Conference finals last season. That helped him bag a 4-year $48 million contract extension this summer.

The Lakers are currently ranked 7th in the league in defense, and it will only improve with Vando back in the line-up. Vanderbilt and Hachimura will take some defensive load off Anthony Davis’ shoulders, which will allow him to be more productive offensively.

The Lakers are undefeated with Jarred Vanderbilt in their line-up this season, and they would love to keep it that way by eliminating the Phoenix Suns from the in-season tournament tonight.

Who do you think will come out on top in this high stakes clash?

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