The Lakers were told terrible news about Jarred Vanderbilt’s latest injury.

The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the Boston Celtics 114-105 on Thursday, but it wasn’t all fun and games. Fans were left wondering about the severity of forward Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury when he left the game in the second quarter due to a foot ailment and did not return.

 

Sadly, it appears that Lakers supporters will have to wait a while to see the former Kentucky player.

 

According to people close to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski, Vanderbilt “is expected to miss several weeks with a right foot injury.” much more worrisome is that tests will be conducted again to see if the 24-year-old will need to be “out even longer.”

Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss “Several Weeks” according to Lakers news.

It is even more regrettable that Vanderbilt had an injury when playing so brilliantly against the Celtics. With both LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (achilles) out of the lineup, he received his sixth start of the season. Making the most of his opportunity, he scored 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting in just 16 minutes of play while also grabbing seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

 

Throughout the 2023–24 season, the former 2017 McDonald’s All-American has struggled with injuries. Due to a heel injury sustained during the preseason, Vanderbilt was unable to play until December 2. During then, he has participated in 29 games (6 starts), averaging 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 assists.

One of the Lakers’ top defenders, Vanderbilt has played minutes this season at every position save point guard thanks to his flexibility. Los Angeles’ latest injury is a huge blow, since James and Davis are still injured and Cam Reddish (ankle) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are also out.

 

The Lakers are only 1.5 games away from elimination from the Play-In Tournament as of February 2, despite having a 25-25 record that puts them eighth in the Western Conference. Based on winning percentage, Tankathon ranks Los Angeles as having the 12th-hardest remaining schedule; therefore, if Darvin Ham’s team isn’t able to get healthy soon, things might become worse.