{"id":87889,"date":"2025-08-10T15:39:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T15:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=87889"},"modified":"2025-08-10T15:39:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T15:39:11","slug":"update-jarred-vanderbilts-lakers-future-hinges-on-one-critical-improvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=87889","title":{"rendered":"Update: Jarred Vanderbilt\u2019s Lakers future hinges on one critical improvement"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"relative z-10\">\n<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large\">The Los Angeles Lakers forward cannot be a non-factor on offense.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 1x,  \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 2x, \n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 1x, \nhttps:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 2x,\n    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F20%2F01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers - Game Five\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_295,y_0,w_2727,h_1533\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/20\/01k1v15sppw6853eb5xz.jpg\" alt=\"Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers - Game Five\" width=\"2727\" height=\"1533\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers &#8211; Game Five | Harry How\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Jarred Vanderbilt was once a critical role player on a Los Angeles Lakers team that made it all the way to a Western Conference Finals appearance. Improving his corner 3-pointers should allow him to reclaim that status in the 2025-26 NBA season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">A recent ESPN article from their group of NBA insiders pointed out\u00a0a very important fact. No one in the NBA creates more quality looks from the perimeter for his teammates than\u00a0Luka Doncic.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">ESPN wrote, &#8220;Doncic has generated the most corner 3-point attempts of any passer in the NBA throughout his career, according to GeniusIQ.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">What&#8217;s the problem with that? As currently constructed, the Lakers do not have a strong group of players to take advantage of that.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\"><em>ESPN added, &#8220;The Lakers don&#8217;t have many [shooters] on their roster. Among members of their projected rotation, Rui Hachimura and backups Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht are the only players who have made their corner 3s at an above-average rate over the past five seasons.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Offensive impact will allow for Jarred Vanderbilt&#8217;s defense to shine<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The majority of Vanderbilt&#8217;s value will be found on the defensive end. That is perfectly fine and as expected. His defensive capabilities will always be what forces an NBA coach to look in his direction off the bench.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Reliably giving Vanderbilt minutes has been tough in the seasons following the Lakers&#8217; run in 2023. That is due to a couple of major reasons.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The most obvious one would be his troubles with injuries. Vanderbilt has been limited to 65 regular-season games over the last two NBA campaigns due to a variety of ailments plaguing him.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Marc Stein offered hope\u00a0earlier in the offseason that the Lakers forward is trending towards a change in that regard. Stein reported that Vanderbilt is &#8216;healthier now than he was at any point last season.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The other major reason is his lack of offensive firepower. That is where adding the corner 3-point shot to his arsenal could pay major dividends.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Vanderbilt struggled in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The versatile forward could only muster 1.4 points, shooting 33.3 percent from the field and missing all of his looks from distance.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Defenses have been more than satisfied with leaving Vanderbilt wide open from the arc when the Lakers forward has floated to that area of the court during offensive possessions. Punishing them for that space at a passable rate would truly be the difference.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">According to Basketball Reference, the league average for 3-pointers was 36.0 percent during the 2024-25 season. If Vanderbilt can provide even 33 percent in the upcoming campaign, there will be plenty of reason for him to be a prominent part of the bench in 2025-26.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Lakers forward cannot be a non-factor on offense. Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers &#8211; Game Five | Harry How\/GettyImages Jarred Vanderbilt was once&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Update: Jarred Vanderbilt\u2019s Lakers future hinges on one critical improvement - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=87889\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update: Jarred Vanderbilt\u2019s Lakers future hinges on one critical improvement - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Los Angeles Lakers forward cannot be a non-factor on offense. 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