when he was on the floor, ingram couldn't get much. when he was off, ingram got whatever he wanted. just night and day. and he's just everywhere out there. big fan.
So glad I was right. Absolutely love this guy. I hope he stays a Laker a very long time. I think he’s still under contract next year.
The Vandelorian was just so fun to watch. His energy is contagious and he never stops! He made Ingram’s job a whole lot harder. Good on ya Ham for putting him in the starting lineup!
Since the trade I've been saying that Reaves/Hachimura should be starting rather than Beasley/Vanderbilt because the former were better fits with DLo, LeBron and AD. Happy to admit after last night that I was probably wrong! Vanderbilt brought great defensive presence in the starting lineup and I don't think the subpar spacing between him and AD hurt that group much if at all. Teams will start to defend that starting lineup differently, but I'm confident Vanderbilt will be able to contribute in other ways besides spot-up shooting. So stoked that he's on this team now.
I don’t necessarily think you were wrong though sk2408. But this particular game Vando was perfect to match up with Ingram. I could see some switches depending on the opponent between Rui starting and Vando. I think you could make an argument for either one. With Reaves, I still think Beasley is a better fit for the starters because of his shooting. The defense has to respect it and it opens space for AD and Lebron. Reaves is just so good subbing in that I think he’s fine coming off the bench. Beasley needs time out there right now.
I certainly hope Vanderbilt can refine his offensive game and shooting working with Handy and the development staff, but I didn’t really notice any moments where he hurt the spacing. He’s so low usage, but also active and constantly moving off-ball, so it doesn’t seem to lead to the same kind of situation where players would just sag off Westbrook and cripple the entire offense. He’s also shown some surprising flashes of making some great quick reads and passes. And then on defense? Watching him guard Ingram almost brought tears to my eyes. Sure BI still had a good overall game, but felt like he mostly feasted when Vanderbilt was on the bench, and even when he scored on Vando they were tough shots. Really can’t recall the last time we had a defensive wing like Vanderbilt. Might be the best we’ve had since the Ariza/Artest days.
Not going to lie: it would have been fun to have Bevs and him together to throw out there IMO. Bevs was really good against guys who didn't have a massive size advantage on him. Feel Vando will totally fix that issue but will Ham use against smaller guards? He didn't do that against Lillard which was frustrating. With DLo feel like the shooting would have been good enough
Yeah his offensive game is far from polished but he always finds himself in the right spots for easy dump offs. Never really hurting the spacing as some have brought up when the trade happened.
I really like the fact that he and Dlo and Beasley played together for a couple years in Minny. That makes the three of them make sense in the starting lineup with AD and Lebron. Good chemistry already which is huge with a mid season trade.
Really enjoyed his defense on BI. the good energy continues. Kam bros had the host of the Locked on Jazz pod on the other day to give us his scouting report on Vando and Beasley. Couple of things that stuck out: - Moochie Norris (remember him?) was one of his HS coaches and they had Vanderbilt run the point a lot. Which explains his comfort level handling the ball and rebounding-and-go'ing - locked on Jazz host pointed out that Vanderbilt is typically fine handling it from opponent's rim to his own FT line, after that it gets dicey. You have to start making quick decisions and the defense is coming at you... doesn't always end well.
I think he’s fine as long as he keeps moving and cutting to the basket consistently. With both Dlo and LeBron handling, teams can’t lose contact with Van or he’ll get the pass and a layup. That in itself keeps teams honest and a different look from the other starters because it’s not scoring off isolations like AD.
