The Los Angeles Lakers faced the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, which many predicted would be another crushing defeat given that LeBron James and Anthony Davis were not in the lineup. The Lakers had just defeated the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks in back-to-back games.
But in an unexpected turn of events, the Lakers defeated perhaps the best team in the league without either of their two superstars, winning handily—a victory the team so needed on their arduous road trip.
Unfortunately, it appears that they lost one of their greatest defenders in the victory over the Celtics, as forward Jarred Vanderbilt injured his foot during the contest.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Vanderbilt, who has already lost a significant amount of time this season, would likely be sidelined for a few weeks due to a right foot issue.
This is a bad development for the Lakers, as despite the team’s struggles, Vanderbilt is beginning to regain his form as one of the finest perimeter defenders in the game. He has recently shown flashes of brilliant basketball.
It will be fascinating to watch how this changes the team’s intentions in advance of the NBA trade deadline on February 8 with Vanderbilt recuperating and it being uncertain if he will return to the court for the Lakers this season.
The Lakers have, as is customary, been linked to a number of trade rumours in the run-up to the deadline, suggesting that the legendary team is determined to make a move in an attempt to salvage their season.
