Jarred Vanderbilt has had his fair share of injuries since joining the Los Angeles Lakers. It looked like it was all behind him this year, but unfortunately, he sustained a full dislocation of his right pinkie finger in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
With under six minutes to go in the second quarter, Vanderbilt attempted to block an alley-oop dunk by Chet Holmgren. However, his fingers swiped against the left side of the backboard, which caused significant damage to his pinkie finger.
The Lakers forward grimaced in pain as the medical staff tended to his injury. He was in discomfort and yelled in pain. Upon seeing the injured finger, cameras captured the reaction of Thunder players on the sideline. They looked shocked and turned away immediately.
Jarred Vanderbilt has been seeing more playing time since his heated exchange with head coach JJ Redick last month. He provides the Lakers with some much-needed defense off the bench and has featured in all playoff games, barring Game 6 against the Houston Rockets.
The injury ruled him out for the rest of the game and has put him in major doubt for the rest of the series. With Luka Doncic still ruled out due to a hamstring injury, the Lakers could not afford another injury in the playoffs.
It was a difficult night for the Lakers as they found themselves second best for the entire match. While they stayed competitive in the first half, they succumbed to a 108-90 defeat to the defending champions at the Paycom Center.
A full dislocation to a finger is never a pretty sight. When the Thunder players got a closer look at the injury, all of them had a visible reaction. It could be a problem for the Lakers if he misses a significant amount of time.
Fans were left concerned by the horrific injury. And by judging by the reaction of the Thunder players, it may be a lot worse than the Laker nation will be hoping for.
If the Lakers do end up losing a valuable 3-D player like Jarred Vanderbilt for the rest of the series, it will be a cause of concern for them against a deep Thunder team. A fractured finger takes some time to heal, so the early signs are not looking good for the purple and gold.
After the game, JJ Redick was asked about Vanderbilt's injury.
I just talked to him. He is in as good as spirits as you can be in this situation. Obviously, frustrated with what happened. It looked bad. He was audibly screaming. He knew he had done something. We are disappointed. It is a freak injury.
JJ Redick in his post-match press conferenceThe Lakers will be looking to bounce back strongly in Game 2 as they will want to head back home with a road win under their belt. It is a tall ask as the Thunder are the only team yet to lose a game in the playoffs so far.
(532 Articles Published)