The final part of the NBA season is here and the Los Angeles Lakers are still hoping that three of their most important players can return. Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt have been working hard and making progress in their rehabilitation and the team received positive news regarding all three.
Vincent’s return is imminent as it was recently announced that the the last step for him is just to get his conditioning back and head coach Darvin Ham noted that the point guard is still going through his process, which is also the case for Vanderbilt. Ham, however, expects Reddish to be back in the lineup Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“He takes his individual approach, it is still in progress. But it’s continuing in a really positive way,” Ham said of Vincent after Wednesday’s practice. “Same for Vando. Cam was able to participate today and we expect him to play Friday.
The Lakers signed Vincent this offseason to give the team a shooter and defender at the point guard position, but he only played in five games this year after undergoing knee surgery. The Lakers have had major issues defending opposing point guards and getting Vincent back would be a huge boost on that front, the same could be said for Vanderbilt.
Ham also discussed how long it will take for these guys to get up to speed once they are back in the lineup.
“It’s different for different guys and different types of players,” Ham said. “If you’re an offensive guy, it takes time to master your game. If you’re a defensive guy like me, you just have to go out and get conditioned. But you do the little things, you try to find yourself on the defensive end first and make sure you’re in sync with what the guys on that side of the floor are doing, and then offensively, what you do, don’t do it not. try to force or push it. Let the game come to you.
Losing Vanderbilt was a big blow to the Lakers, as he was finally returning to form and having a big impact on the team. His defensive prowess is well known, but he was also finding his stride offensively, having scored in double figures in four of his last five games played.
The Lakers’ road to the playoffs is tough as they will have to go through the Play-In Tournament again and while there is still time to climb the standings a bit, there isn’t much. Getting Reddish, Vincent and Vanderbilt back in uniform, making a positive impact, would help this team immensely.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham recharged after 20 years in reunion with 2004 Pistons
The pressure will also be on Darvin Ham to help get these Lakers on track and into the playoffs and a little trip down memory lane has put him in a better frame of mind. Ham recently traveled to Detroit for the 20th anniversary reunion of the 2004 Detroit Pistons championship team he was a part of and he says it recharged him.
“All these years later, it’s like we’ve never missed a beat. It was a serious brotherhood and remains so today, for all of us. The winning culture of the franchise, well, was the winning culture and hopefully they’ll get back to that eventually. This place still has a special place in my heart and just being with my guys, we all stay in touch, so it wasn’t like what’s going on, what’s going on with this.
“But just seeing what everyone has done in the basketball world since we were all part of that special group in 2004, it definitely filled my cup beyond the brim. Just like a refill. Everyone wishes me good luck, gives their opinion on what they saw, everyone is watching us closely obviously, especially these guys. Just the assurance to continue to do and be yourself, to continue to fight and we love you, we have you back. All that. So it was just what the doctor ordered.
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